Before They Were Ninja
by EMPFangirl02
Summary: It's the beginning of high school, and our favorite ninja are caught in the middle of teenage angst: the constant anxiety, the joys of trying to make friends, the ever present parent problems, and of course, the struggle of pretending to be a normal human teenager... Or maybe that last one's just Zane. Rated T for bullying and because I'm paranoid.
1. Zane

**AN:** **Hello everyone! I promise I'm not giving up on my fantasy series. I just had an idea about the movie ninja that I just had to write down. These are going to be snap shots from all the ninja's perspective that kinda build on each other as they start high school. This first one is from Zane's perspective. Hope you enjoy!**

**For the record, I do not own the Ninjago Movie, or the show, or any of these wonderful characters. **

* * *

**Zane**

I opened my locker, just like I had seen all the other kids do, but I paused. This was my first day of high school in a new city and I did not want to appear 'odd' or 'weird'. What did one do next? The kid next to me shrugged his backpack nonchalantly and tossed it in his locker. On my other side, the student simply hung their coat inside. Another grabbed books out of her locker to put in her bag.

So many choices… but which one gave the appearance of a normal teenager?

"Hey," Someone said, jolting me out of my thoughts. Was that student talking to me?

"You new here?" He asked.

How did he know? I did my best to act like everyone else in school. I even downloaded all known data relating to teenagers to appear like a normal human. I turned around to face the student, and my sensors immediately began to profile him: broad, muscular, but extremely relaxed. He had messy black hair tied into a messy man bun and a boombox on his shoulder. He also seemed to be waiting for an answer.

I pushed the data to the back of my processor to be analyzed later. "Yes. I moved to Ninjago City last week."

My father had gotten a new job in the city, and wanted to move before the school year started. However, it had taken two months to move all the equipment and experiments from his lab, so we had only just settled into our new house.

The boy smiled. "Cool. I've lived here my whole life. What's it like outside Ninjago?"

Why was he being so friendly? Was this a social norm? Did human teens just talk to strangers? I scanned my data banks, but I had no solid data on human interactions. And if this was normal, I had no idea what the proper response would be. What did he want to know about life outside Ninjago? The smells? The aesthetic? How I went about my daily routine? Unwanted memories flooded my processor, bringing me back to my first interaction with humans...

"Sorry, my name's Cole," the kid said, thankfully interrupting my memories.

I smiled, grateful he had interrupted my lack of response as failure on his part. "My name is Zane, b—" I clamped my mouth shut, cutting off end of the programmed response: _built to protect those who cannot protect themselves. _I would have to ask Father to fix that. At this rate, I would give away my identity.

Fortunately, Cole did not seem to notice. "Nice to meet you, Zane," he replied. The bell rang, and he put on giant headphones and walked off to class. I quickly pulled up my schedule and a schematic of the school from my database. I closed my locker and hurried off to class. I did not want to be late.

I entered the classroom and scanned for an open seat. To my surprise, Cole was in my class, and there was an open seat next to him. As he was the only person I recognized, I took the seat and set my book bag down. Cole did not seem to notice. My audio sensors detected he was listening to soft rock, and his eyes were closed, nodding his head to the beat.

I did not mind. Social interactions were not my strong suit. Class started, and the professor began teaching basic algebra equations my father had already taught me. I suppose being an advanced robotic engineer, he was able to give me an advantage over regular human teens.

"Can anyone tell me what x equals in this equation?" The professor asked.

I raised my hand.

"Someone besides Zane," she amended.

I frowned. I thought I was supposed to answer a question if I knew the answer. I looked around the room, and nobody else raised their hand. Perhaps teenagers did not answer their teachers' questions.

The professor sighed, "Zane?"

"X equals 3.3 repeating," I answered.

"Nerd," the kid behind me muttered. I froze. Judging from his tone of voice, nerd was not a compliment. I looked around the class. A majority of the students were staring at me, and I shrank in my seat. Next period, I would definitely stop answering questions. I did not want to draw attention to myself. I just wanted to blend in and be a normal teenager.

For the rest of the day, I did not answer anymore questions, even though I knew all the answers, but I could still feel eyes watching me. Judging me. My core fluxed and the electricity flowing through my body shuddered. I gasped. Father programed me to experience human emotions, but I wished he had not included physical side effects as well.

"You alright?" Cole asked.

I mustered a smile and manually forced my systems to return to normal. "Of course. I am functioning like a normal human teen."

Cole frowned. Did I say something wrong? By calling myself human, did I reveal that I actually was an android? But to my relief, the he just shrugged it off.

"Whatever you say."

I smiled. "I do say." Cole glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes, but then he just closed them again and put his headphones back on.

I hesitated. What should I do next? I looked at the other teens in the hallway. They were all talking to each other. Perhaps I should make conversation as well.

"What are you listening to?" I asked.

"The Weekend Whip," Cole replied.

I tilted my head. "I have no record of that song in my database."

Cole cracked his eyes open and stared at me. Oh no. Humans do not have databases. He will find out, and then…

"It's by the Fold," he said. I stared at him blankly. He did not notice?

"You've never heard of them?" Cole asked.

I breathed a sigh of relief. My secret was still safe. He only wanted to have a normal conversation. I shook my head in response.

"They're a pretty popular band," Cole explained. "Don't they perform where you're from?"

"No," I replied.

"Huh. What do you listen to?" Cole asked.

I sorted through my memory files. I never listened to music. My processor always analyzed the lyrics and the music, making the experience more overwhelming than enjoyable.

"My father listens to the Beatles," I finally said. "I do not listen to music."

Cole nodded. "I can respect that. So what do you do in your spare time?"

Spare time… I sorted through my processor. Most likely he was talking about 'hobbies'. Most of my time was spent correcting and updating my machinery, but I did not want to tell Cole that. My father taught me lessons in robotics and spinjitzu, but that did not fit the definition of a traditional hobby. I cooked all of the meals at home. I believe that counts.

"I cook," I said at last.

"That's cool. You settling in here?" Cole asked, switching subjects.

I nodded. "Yes." Then I hesitated. Today's events flashed to the front of my processor. Another one of my father's ideas. My memories were always triggered at the most inconvenient times. I sighed. "Although, school has been difficult."

Cole nodded like he understood. "It must be hard, leaving everything you know behind. Do you have friends back home?"

Friends… A concept completely foreign to me. The only kids I met… I forced the memories deep into my database. I shook my head.

"Oh," Cole replied. "Well, hopefully you make some new friends here. I've got to catch the bus, so..." he slowly started walking toward the door.

I realized he was waiting for me to respond before leaving. "Of course," I said. Cole nodded and turned around. Something was buzzing in my wires, something more than usual. It must be one of Father's emotions, but one that I never felt before. It was not unpleasant. In fact, it was warm, a driving force, but not overwhelming. I scanned my database and realized it was hope. Perhaps Cole and I could be friends.

I walked out of the door, and after a quick scan, identified my father's car and soon we were on our way home.

"How was school today, Zane?" he asked, glancing in the rear-view mirror to see my face.

"It was… interesting," I said, not quite sure what word to use. Father frowned and I added, "I may have made a new friend."

Father grinned. "I'm so glad, Zane! I knew you could do it! And no one was mean to you at school?"

I remembered the stares, and the whispers of the other students, but I did not want to worry my father, so I said, "Not like then."

We came to a red light and he looked back at me. "Good," he said. "I'm so glad."

I smiled and he turned back to the road. After a moment, Father asked, "Did you tell anyone?"

I hesitated, then answered truthfully, "No."

"Not even your friend?"

"No."

Father sighed, and we pulled into the driveway. I got out of the car and tried to walk away. I knew my father would want to talk about that time, and I did not need the memories to be triggered again. I had experienced them enough today.

"Zane, I know they hurt you then, but someday, when you're ready, I hope you'll tell your friends you're an android."

I froze, using all my power to repress the memories, the feelings that came with those words.

"I cannot," I finally said.

"Zane, you can't deny who you are. And one day you will make friends who accept you, android and all." He put his hand on my shoulder, and I lost the battle.

"_I think you're ready, Zane," Father said._

"_I can go outside?" I cried, and Father chuckled at my enthusiasm. _

"_We've worked out all the kinks in your programming, so I don't see why not."_

"_Yay!" _

_I sprinted down the steps and bolted out the door. I froze. The whole ground was covered in white stuff I had never seen before. Snow, my database supplied. I took a step and my foot sank in the snow. My sensors registered the cold, but it didn't bother my metal body. _

_I took a deep breath and jumped into the snow. It was soft and crisp and wet and I loved it. I laughed and threw it in the air. I flopped backwards and buried my whole body in the snow, and burst back up again. _

"_Hey. I've never seen you here before. Who are you?"_

_I turned around and there was a group of kids. Just like me. I grinned and stood up. "I am Zane, built to protect those who cannot protect themselves."_

_The boys looked at each other and snickered. I tilted my head and the lead boy turned back to me. "What, like a robot?"_

_I blinked, not quite understanding. "Yes. I am an android," I replied, using the word Father taught me._

_The boys glanced at each other again. The boy in middle stepped. "So you're made of metal?" he said, knocking on my arm._

_I backed away. "Yes—"_

"_Can you feel this?" Another boy interrupted, and something whacked my head. My sensors exploded and my vision fizzed out._

"_What are you doing?" I cried._

"_How 'bout this?" Another boy asked, and hands rammed into my chest. I crashed to the ground, my sensors screaming at me. I tried to get away, but they kept coming, over and over. My joints cracked and my wires fired, my body sparking. Finally, I froze. Please go away, please go away, please go away… _

"_What's the matter? I thought you were a robot?" One of them demanded._

_I tried to shrink away from the voices, but my body wouldn't respond. Warning messages flashed from all key systems. I was completely destroyed. I whimpered._

"_Nah, he's just a big baby," another said and the others laughed._

_My power source surged and my wires fizzled and popped, and the boys gasped._

"_Whoa! He _is _a robot!" One cried. Hands prodded and poked at my wires and started tearing me apart. They pulled at my chest, and my panel opened wide. _

"_Cool!"_

"_Look at all these switches!"_

"_I wonder what this one does?"_

_I jerked away and my body sparked. The boys jumped, but the wires had broken and I was back where I started. Alone. In the snow. I sniffed. There was nothing I could do. They came back, laughing and playing with with my body. _

WARNING! CRITICAL SYSTEMS OFFLINE! WARNING!

_Was this… the end? _

"_What's going on out here?" Father called. The hands left me and I could hear their boots crunching in the snow, finally leaving me alone._

"_Zane?" Father called uncertainty._

"_I'm here!" I tried to call, but my voice came out as a dying croak. _

"_ZANE!" Father cried, and suddenly warm arms wrapped around me. "Oh, my son! What happened to you?"_

"_Boys… they… I could not…" I wheezed. Father pulled me tighter to his chest._

"_It's okay, son. It's over. I'll rebuild you. It'll be okay," he whispered over and over._

The memory faded and I shuddered. I was back on the driveway of my new home, not at the tree covered in snow. I was safe.

"Zane?" Father prompted. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head. "If only I had never admitted who I was…" Fluid welled in my eyes. "They would have left me alone."

"Oh, Zane," he said and he pulled me into a hug. "I'm so sorry, son," he sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

"But you are not to blame," I replied, not understanding his emotional response. Father just squeezed me tighter.

"Promise me one day you'll tell someone the truth?" he whispered.

I did not answer.

"Promise me," he repeated. Father almost sounded like he was begging. I pulled away and nodded slowly.

"Promise?"

I hesitated, but one look into my father's eyes and I replied, "I promise."

* * *

The next day, I opened my locker and decided to set my backpack inside. I closed the door, and to my surprise, Cole was leaning against the locker next to mine.

"Hey," he said, a small grin on his face.

I turned my lips upward to mimic his expression.

"Hello, fellow teenager," I greeted.

He gave me a strange look, but he shrugged. "Ready for math class?" he asked.

"I am thoroughly prepared," I answered. I had spent most of last night researching, and this time I would not stand out in class.

Cole chuckled. "That's good." He put on his headphones and pushed himself off the lockers. I watched him walk away, not quite sure if I should follow him or not.

Cole paused. "You coming?"

I grinned, a real one this time, and zoomed next to him. I had made my first friend. Although I could not bring myself to tell him the truth, I promised myself one day. One day, I would trust Cole with my secret.

* * *

**AN: So... what'd you guys think? I promise not all the other ninja's backstories are going to be this depressing, except maybe Lloyd, the poor sweetheart's gone through a lot. :( **

**I'll probably try to keep posting this once a week if you guys are interested. My Harry Potter/Ninjago fic is my main priority right now, but I'll definitely keep working on this. It was a lot of fun! **

**See you guys soon! **


	2. Jay

**AN: Hello everybody! I'm back, and this time it's Jay's turn. Just so you know, Jay suffers from anxiety, and I tried to represent that to the best of my ability. **

**I don't own Ninjago ya'll. (No matter how hard I wish I did)**

* * *

**Jay**

_I've got all my stuff, right? Right? _My heart hammered in my chest. _What if I forget something? I bet I forgot something. I always forget something. _

I ripped through my backpack, and counted each and every one off. _Phew. It's all there. And you've got your lunch money? Is it there? Did I even grab it? Uggg! I can't remember! _I dug through my pockets. It wasn't there. I knew I had forgotten something.

"Jay? What's wrong, kiddo?" Pa asked.

"I forgot my lunch money, for lunch," I replied. And it was even worse because my parents had finally earned enough money to get off the school's reduced meal program and now I was going around losing our money.

"Ya check your back pocket?"

I stuck my hands in my back pockets and drew out a wad of bills. _Of course they were there. Of all places, it's always where I always least expect it. _I firmly shoved the bills in my front right pocket, where I wouldn't forget it this time.

"You okay, sweetie?" Ma asked.

I shook my head, fiddling with my orange scarf. "It's my first day of high school, and I know something's going to go wrong, it always does, and what if you guys need me here at the junkyard and I'm not here—"

"Oh, Jay!" she said and she wrapped me so tight she could probably feel my pounding heart. _And that would make her feel even more worried, and it's all my fault. I'm a wreck and I'm worthless and—_

"We'll text ya if we need ya," Pa reassured me. I took a deep breath. And another. And another. _Alright. They'll text me. That's what we bought the phone for right? Just in case of emergencies? They'll text and it'll be okay. It'll be okay. _I nodded and tried to smile.

"You'll do great, son!" Ma said.

"You got this!' Pa added.

I nodded again and took a deep breath. _Alright. _I forced myself to walk toward the door. _I'm doing this. _I had almost reached the handle. _I'm going to school. _I swung the door open. _I can do this—_

"Don't forget your backpack!" Ma cried.

_Knew I'd forget something. _I turned around, walked all the way back, swung my backpack over my shoulder and walked out. I closed the trailer door and let out a pent up breath. _Okay, Jay, time to go to school, or you're going to be late._

I made my way past the piles of junk and stepped out on the busy street. I glanced back at the trailer one last time. _Stop stalling and get it over with._ I turned, when something flickered. The lights on Ed and Edna's Scrap had gone out again. _I was going to have to fix that… Nope. Nope. Not going to worry about it. Have to go to school. _

* * *

The school courtyard was so… big. _And loud. Why is it so loud? Is that kid looking at me? Why do they all look so mean? Why did my middle school have to combine with Ninjago High, the largest high school in the whole city? It's not fair._

I hid in the entrance way until the bell rang. Everyone hurried inside, and I trailed behind them. _What's my first class? Correction. _Where _is my first class? _I shoved my hands and pulled out my crumpled schedule. _Math. Room 128. Now, I've just got to find the class in five minutes or else I'm going to be late and I'll get a tardy and get sent to the Dean's Office on the first day, and then—_ I shook my head, and pulled out the map of the school. It actually wasn't too far from here. I snuck into the class and almost all the seats were already filled. The only one available was one in the very front.

I inched to my seat and dropped my backpack. _They're staring at me. Oh no. Did I get grease on my clothes? Fixing that engine after breakfast was a bad idea. I definitely got grease on my shirt. The whispers grew louder and louder. They were all talking about me. I was going to be cornered after class, and spit wads and kick me signs would be plastered on my back, just like in the movies, and then they'll post and whisper things behind my back, and everyone will hate me and my life will be miserable._

My heart raced and I gasped. _There wasn't enough air. Why wasn't there enough air? Did I take my anxiety meds? Oh please tell me I took my meds. I can't have a panic attack. Not here. _

I squeezed my scarf and tried to take some deep breaths. My chest squeezed tighter and there still wasn't enough air. My body shook and I clenched my scarf.

"_Count to five, son," Pa's voice echoed._

"_Breathe, honey, breathe," Ma added._

"Hey. Hey, are you okay?" Someone called.

I blinked and there was kid standing next to me. _Oh no. Here we go again._ I nodded, not trusting my voice. I took one more deep breath and let go of my scarf. "Yeah," I gasped. _Yeah, and he's totally going to buy that._

The kid frowned, and I suddenly realized he looked familiar. _He's… Lloyd Garmadon! What's he doing? He's going to make fun of me isn't he? Look at the poor kid from the junkyard with anxiety—_

"You looked like you were having a heart attack," Lloyd said.

_He's… not making fun of me? He sounds kinda… concerned. _I shook my head. "N-no. Just a panic attack."

"Oh," Lloyd said, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, glad you're okay."

"No thanks to you," the boy next to me sneered. I blinked. _Was that a cheerleading outfit? I didn't know boys could be cheerleaders. And was he carrying pom-poms? _

"Yeah, Lloyd _Garmadon_, you've scared the kid enough," another cheerleader added.

Lloyd stared at his feet. _Did he actually think it was his fault I was panicking? _ "N-no, that's not, I was just—"

"Alright, everyone, sit down. Class is starting," the teacher said. Lloyd went back to seat, far, far away from me. My stomach churned. _He thinks I was scared of him? I mean, yeah, he's the son of the worst guy ever, and yeah, those memes and graffiti are really creepy, but he's just a kid. A kid who was… actually trying to help. And he blames himself for something he didn't even do. I was the one panicking for no reason. I was the one who was making a fool of himself in front of the class. I was the one who should be made fun of. Not him._

"Now, we are going to begin by solving algebraic equations. Can anyone tell me what x equals here?"

_It's all my fault. If I hadn't had that stupid panic attack over absolutely nothing—_ I squeezed my scarf and took a deep breath. _I'll talk to him after class. I'll apologize and it'll be okay. It'll be okay._

I glanced at the clock. It it had only been 10 minutes. _Great. Just great. I have to wait for another forty minutes._ I squeezed my scarf again. _It's fine. It'll be okay. I can do this._

* * *

I was the first out of the classroom, so I had to wait for Lloyd to get out of class. Kids glanced at me as they passed. _I probably look crazy, standing here. Waiting. Completely out of place. Should I even be doing this? I mean, this is Lloyd Garmadon we're talking about. Son of the worst guy ever. Although, if it wasn't for him, my parents wouldn't really have a business. But what if he attacks me?_

I glanced at the wall and a poster with a red-eyed Lloyd jumped out at me. BEWARE! I shivered and squeezed my scarf. _No. Just because his dad's evil doesn't mean he is. Right? Anyways, he seemed nice enough. He was trying to help me. And he blamed himself for _my _panic attack. I have to do this. _

Lloyd walked out of the door. _Okay. Here we go. _"Hey, um, Lloyd? I-I just wanted to say—" _And he's gone. Probably didn't even hear me. _I sighed. _It was time for me to go to the next class._

And I missed him in the rest of my classes. _But it's lunch time, so this time for sure I'll see him. _

I glanced around the cafeteria. _Nope. I have absolutely no luck._

My pocket buzzed. _Someone texted. Was it Mom? Did something happen? Do they need me back the junkyard. Did they get another order? Did Dad throw his back out?_

I fumbled with my phone and quickly pressed the home button.

Ma: Hope u r having a gr8 day :)

_Oh._ _Jeez._ _Really, Ma? _I sank to the ground and my phone buzzed again. I glanced down.

Mom: Look my nu seashell!

Underneath it was a pixelated spiral shell. I smiled in spite of myself. _Typical Ma. _When she wasn't working, she was at the beach looking for new shells. _She'll probably keep texting till I reply. _

Me: That's great! XD

Ma: School going well

Me: Sure

Ma: Jay . . .

I sighed. _What should I say? I don't want to scare her. If she knew how I really felt..._

Me: I'm fine. Really.

Ma: K then. See you 2nt

Me: See you.

I leaned my head against the wall and sighed.

"Are you alright?" a girl asked.

I jerked forward. _Oh man. A girl. A girl is talking to me. And she's... absolutely gorgeous. Oh man, what do I say? _

"Uh, ye-yeah. Totally fine," I stammered. _Seriously, Jay? That was pathetic. _

"Oh," she said. "You're just sitting here? All by yourself?"

_She was worried about me?_ "A-actually, I was waiting for Lloyd," I replied, trying to smile but utterly failing.

She frowned. "Lloyd… Garmadon? Why do you want to meet him?"

_Oh. Right. Lloyd is the most hated kid in all Ninjago. Great way to introduce yourself, Jay. But maybe if I explain what happened, she'll understand? _

"Well, I… I kinda had a panic attack. A-and then Lloyd came up to me, and tried to help, but then he got blamed for my panic attack, so yeah. I wanna fix it." _That made absolutely zero sense. What in Ninjago is wrong with me? _

The girl blinked. _Man, she had beautiful eyes. _"He tried to help you?"

I nodded quickly. _I can't believe it. She actually understood me. Nobody understands me. _

She hesitated, before finally saying, "I've seen him around the courtyard, up on the roof."

_That's weird. _I swallowed. "T-thanks. I'll go check."

She smiled. "No problem. I'll come with you. Just in case."

_Just in case? Just in case? _I thought about the Beware poster. _But it's not like he's going to attack me, right? He's just kid. A freshman. Like me. _I took a deep breath and pushed myself up to my feet.

We walked down the hallway in silence. I glanced at her. _She looks so confident. How does she do it? I wonder… Wait. I don't even know this girl's name. _

"Um, I don't want be rude, but, uh, wha-w—What's your name?" _That sounded really bad._

But she laughed. "My name's Nya. You?"

"J-jay," I stammered.

Nya grinned. "Nice to meet you, Jay."

Suddenly, the courtyard door loomed in front of us. I squeezed my scarf. _It'll be okay. It'll be fine. He tried to help me._

"Come on," Nya called, already opening the door. I quickly jogged after and we were in the courtyard.

I scanned the roof, and there he was just sitting there. Not eating. Not cackling, or plotting something evil. Just sitting. _He looks lonely._

I edged up to him. "H-hey!" My voice cracked. I swallowed and tried again. "Lloyd!"

He jerked, and for a moment I thought he was going to fall off. _Oh man, if I had made him fall…_

"What do you want?" he called. _Is he… afraid?_

Nya glanced at me. I tugged at my scarf and took another deep breath. "You didn't cause my panic attack."

"What?" Lloyd asked.

_Oh. He didn't even remember. I spent half the day worrying about this for nothing. _I sighed. "This morning? First period? You asked if I was having a heart attack?"

Lloyd slowly drew himself back to the edge of the roof. "I… I didn't scare you?"

"N-no," I said. _Stupid stutter. _I tried again. "It was nothing. Really."

"He's been looking for you," Nya added.

Lloyd leaned forward, his green eyes sparkling. "Really?"

_Everyone is wrong about Lloyd. _I smiled. "Yeah. I just wanted you to know it wasn't your fault. I-I panic a lot."

"Thanks—for coming," Lloyd quickly added. "I made someone faint in middle school, and I thought…"

I shook my head. "Nope."

_Now what? I don't wanna leave him here on the roof, but what do I say?_

"You know, Lloyd," Nya began. "You're not a bad guy. You're actually pretty sweet."

"Thanks?" he replied.

"I mean," Nya corrected, "You shouldn't be by yourself. You want to come eat lunch with us?"

I glanced at Nya. _Us? Really? Like… friends?_

Lloyd grinned and jumped off the roof. "Yeah!" He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, if you're okay with that?" he said, turning to me.

"Of course!" I said. _Who wouldn't want a place to belong?_

We sat down and started talking. I mostly listened, but still. _I wasn't alone. _I grinned. _School wasn't so bad after all._

* * *

**AN: I know I said future chapters wouldn't be as depressing, so I hope this one was a little lighter. Thanks for all the people who have sent a review and followed/favorited my story. I really appreciate it! Next up is Nya, and I'll try to post again on Tuesday.**


	3. Nya

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry it's a little later. Just had to work on the final edit/proof read and when I tried to copy and paste it in, I got a bunch of weird messages instead. But it's here now! :)**

** I know some of the dialogue overlaps with Jay's chapter, but it's important moment in Nya's life. I tried to focus mostly on her thoughts rather than what was being said to make it different, but I just thought I'd give you a head's up. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

**Nya**

I pulled on my leather jacket and pulled my hair back into a quick ponytail.

"You ready yet?" Kai called.

I rolled my eyes. "Coming!" I yelled, and jogged down the stairs. It was the first day of high school. I wanted to look somewhat decent.

"Finally," Kai said.

"Says the guy who spends twenty minutes on his hair," I grumbled.

"Hey!" he protested. "My hair is important!"

"It doesn't even look good!" I shot back.

"What do you mean? Everyone at school says it looks great!"

I rolled my eyes. He seriously believed that? "They were being sarcastic. It looks like a weird flame on your head."

"I know! It's hot," he said, waggling his eyebrows. Is that supposed to be cool? I can't believe he's my older brother.

"No. Just no."

"Children!" Mom interrupted. "You're both ready, so why don't you go to school?"

Kai sighed and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Do we have to go together?" Kai complained. "I mean, we're already in all the same classes. I don't want my little sister following me around everywhere."

I sighed. Here we go again.

Mom frowned. "Kai, you and your sister need to keep an eye on each other. School is long walk, and if Garmadon attacks… I don't want anything to happen to either of you. Your dad risks his life every day, but you..."

Kai hung his head, and I shook mine. Here it comes… "I'll keep her safe. I promise," Kai said firmly. My knight in shining armor.

"I can take care of myself," I said for the billionth time. "That's why Dad taught me self-defense. So I could protect myself."

Mom's eyes softened and she put her hand on my shoulder. I could almost mouth along as she tried to comfort me. "I know, sweetie. You two can look after each other."

But she still called me sweetie. Like I was a little kid. I sighed, but I didn't argue. It wouldn't do me any good. I slung my backpack over my shoulder. "Alright. Bye, Mom."

"Bye, sweetie," She said. "Thanks for understanding." And she pecked my cheek. I tried not to groan. The two of us walked out the door, when Kai stopped. I paused. He's going to ask the question.

"Is Dad coming home tonight?" Kai asked hopefully.

I glanced back, and Mom just sagged. Dad's not coming.

And sure enough, Mom sighed, "Sorry, Kai. There's 70% chance of a Garmadon attack. His boss wants him to pull another all-nighter."

"Again?" Kai demanded. "This is the third night in row! And Garmadon hasn't even attacked yet!"

Kai's right. This was getting ridiculous. I mean, I know Dad works for the police force and that means he has to work overtime. A lot. But three nights in a row? Isn't that illegal?

"I know," Mom sighed. "But since the police force have never been able to successfully stop a Garmadon attack, the mayor has cut back funding so that means—"

"Dad has to work more," I finished. The mayor was always cutting back funding on the police and putting it into the coast guard and mechs and other useless defense systems, and every time Dad has to work longer and longer. And there was absolutely nothing we can do about it.

Mom sighed, and the clock struck seven. She jumped and practically shoved us outside. "Come on, you're going to be late!"

We hurried out, and Mom hopped in the car. "I'm not going to be home till eight," She called, even as she revved the engine. "There's leftovers in the fridge. And Kai, don't set the kitchen on fire this time! Stay safe! I love you!"

"Love you too, Mom," I called back. She waved, and I waved back. We watched her go, and then we started walking the opposite direction toward school.

I wish had my bike. Then we could get there so much faster. But I was still missing a few parts for the engine, and the one near our house had been destroyed in the last Garmadon attack. I sighed.

Kai glanced at me. "Ready for school, sis?"

"Is anyone ever?" I teased and he cracked a smile, but Kai waited, and I added, "Not looking forward to class, but it'll be nice to see everyone again. I mean, we got to hang out over the summer, but it's not quite the same as seeing them everyday. How about you?"

He grinned. "I'm so ready! We're going to be high schoolers!"

I laughed. "We're going to be freshmen. Nobody likes freshmen."

But that didn't put a damper on my brother. "Better than middle school! And all the guys said they had cool plans for high school. I can't wait!"

I shook my head. Kai's friends were… strange. I don't think they actually cared about Kai; they just kind of… tolerated him. But that didn't stop him from having a great time with them, and it's not like he has anywhere else to go… but I still couldn't shake it off. Kai was my brother, and whatever plans they had for high school, they probably weren't very safe. Or legal.

"You know, you can hang out with me and the girls," I suggested. "They won't mind."

Kai made a face. "No! I don't wanna hang out with a bunch of girls. Besides, what's wrong with my friends?"

I sighed. "When was the last time you hung out outside of school?"

Kai frowned.

"Exactly."

"They're all busy," Kai protested. "They have work and family vacations and stuff."

I gave him the look. "You sure about that?"

"Yes!" he shot back and crossed his arms stubbornly.

I sighed. Maybe I should try something else. "You know, Sally thinks you're hot," I said. "And the girls like hanging out with you. They'd treat you way better than those guys."

Kai glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, then flickered back to the sidewalk. He was thinking about it. Then he waved me off.

"I don't want to be be with your friends. Girls are stupid and people think we're twins enough as it is," Kai said.

I frowned. It was a lame excuse and he knew it. "Kai…"

"So what if we don't hang out all the time? They're my friends and I can do what I want," he snapped.

And there he goes again. Once his mind was made up, there was nothing I could about it. I sighed. If that's what he wants, then the best I could do was love him anyways. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder.

"I know," I said. "I just worry about you."

"Hey," he protested, but there was no fire behind it. "It's my job to worry about you. I'm the older brother, remember?"

I smirked and let my arm drop. Mission accomplished. "Only by nine months. And I'm the one who's taking care of you all the time, so I might as well be the older sibling," I said, stoking the age-old argument.

"Ten months!" Kai corrected. "And that makes you my little sister."

He ruffled my hair and I ducked. "Barely. Besides, I'm taller." I teased.

"Are not!" Kai said.

"Yes I am. Your hair just makes you look taller."

"Still counts," he said, confident smirk on his face.

We laughed and bickered all the way up to school. The bell rang and Kai waved. Sadly, we weren't in a lot of the same classes.

"See you after school," he called.

I waved back. "See ya."

* * *

Class was incredibly boring, but at least a couple of my friends were in class, and it turns out most of us have the same lunch period. So at least there was something to look forward to.

The bell rang and I almost ran out of the classroom. I followed the rest of the students to the cafeteria and grabbed a tray. I scanned the the lunchroom and saw a couple of my friends had grabbed a table already.

"Hey, Nya!" Rumi called.

I grinned and quickly made my way over to her. "Hey. Long time no see. How've you all been?"

"Good," the girls chorused. We started chatting about summer, when I noticed a boy sink against the wall. That couldn't be normal. I quickly got up.

"Where're you going?" Sally asked.

"That kid over there. He needs help."

The others glanced over their shoulders. "Oh. I don't know, Nya. Maybe he just wants to be alone," Rumi suggested.

"Yeah. He was in my class. I think he's just shy," Mei added.

I shook my head. "I don't think so." The boy leaned his head back and sighed. He didn't look alright to me. "I'll be right back," I told the girls.

I walked over, and the boy didn't move. Maybe my friends were right, but I had to make sure.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

He jerked up and stared at me, wide eyed. I tried to smile kindly, reassure him that I wasn't going to hurt him, but he just simply froze.

Finally, he stuttered, "Uh, ye-yeah. Totally fine."

I frowned. He seemed anything but fine. "Oh. You're just sitting here? All by yourself?"

He blinked, looking almost... surprised? Then he shook his head. "A-actually, I was waiting for Lloyd."

My heart sank. There was only one Lloyd I knew of, son of the guy my father is trying to fight every single day. The kid my dad said never to cross. Ever.

"Lloyd… Garmadon?" I asked hesitantly. Maybe there was someone else, but the boy nodded. "Why do you want to meet him?"

He stared at his lap, his messy brown locks covering his face. "Well, I… I kinda had a panic attack," he admitted. "A-and then Lloyd came up to me, and tried to help, but then he got blamed for my panic attack, so yeah. I wanna fix it."

I blinked. Lloyd Garmadon… had done something good? "He tried to help you?"

He nodded quickly. He looked so eager… so hopeful, but Dad's warning echoed in my mind. Lloyd Garmadon is not to be messed with, you understand? I had never heard him be more serious about anything in my life. But if this boy was right…

"I've seen him around the courtyard, up on the roof," I said at last.

The boy gulped, but quickly tried to muster a smile. "T-thanks. I'll go check."

I smiled. Helping him was definitely worth it. "No problem. I'll come with you. Just in case." I respected my dad, and I believed I shouldn't cross Lloyd... but I wasn't about to let this boy go by himself to face a the son of an evil villain, no matter what he says.

He gave me a shaky smile and pushed himself to his feet. We walked toward the courtyard, silence buzzing in my ears. Should I say something? Usually I was pretty good at making conversation, but...

"Um, I don't want be rude, but, uh, wha-w—What's your name?" he stammered.

I laughed. Here I pegged him as shy and quiet, but he was the one breaking the ice. "My name's Nya. You?"

"J-jay," he replied.

I grinned. "Nice to meet you, Jay."

We arrived at the courtyard and I pushed open the door. Then I realized Jay wasn't there. I turned and he was completely frozen, squeezing his scarf like it was his lifeline.

"Come on," I called. He jerked, and the spell was broken. He hurried after me and we searched the courtyard for the son of Garmadon.

Suddenly, Jay called, "H-hey!" I turned and there he was. Lloyd Garmadon.

"Lloyd!" Jay called.

The son of the worst guy ever jerked. Almost like Jay before.

"What do you want?" he called. Was that a tremor in his voice? I glanced at Jay and he tugged his scarf, like a good luck charm, and took a deep breath.

"You didn't cause my panic attack," he blurted.

"What?" Lloyd asked. He looked… confused. Not at all like the son of villain.

"This morning? First period? You asked if I was having a heart attack?" Jay asked tentatively.

Lloyd slowly drew himself back to the edge of the roof. "I… I didn't scare you?"

"N-no," Jay replied. "It was nothing. Really."

Lloyd blinked, like he couldn't quite believe it. Despite myself, I felt sorry for him. "He's been looking for you," I added.

Lloyd leaned forward, his green eyes sparkling. "Really?" My heart melted. He really was just a kid. A really lonely, sad, adorable kid, whose dad just happened to be the villain attacking Ninjago.

"Yeah," Jay continued. "I just wanted you to know it wasn't your fault. I-I panic a lot."

"Thanks—for coming," Lloyd quickly added. "I made someone faint in middle school, and I thought…"

"Nope," Jay replied. Lloyd looked so grateful, and I made up my mind. Dad was wrong. Lloyd was a regular kid, just like everyone else. Someone who need help.

"You know, Lloyd," I began, not quite sure how to phrase it, "You're not a bad guy. You're actually pretty sweet."

"Thanks?" he replied.

"I mean," I corrected, "You shouldn't be by yourself. You want to come eat lunch with us?"

Lloyd grinned and jumped off the roof. "Yeah!" He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "I mean, if you're okay with that?" he said, turning to Jay.

"Of course!" Jay said, his voice the most steady it'd been so far.

I grinned and the three of us sat in a circle. I actually didn't eat anything. Turns out, Lloyd is not only a sweetheart, but he's also a great person to talk to.

He likes the color green, sweet sappy movies, and in his spare time he build things. I told him about the motorcycle I was trying to make, and Jay added he had some of the parts I needed at his house.

Lloyd's green eyes practically glowed. He asked me for a ride when it was finished, and to my surprise, I said yes. No hesitations. In fact, I couldn't believe just an hour ago, I thought Lloyd was an evil incarnation of his father.

The bell rang and the three of us parted ways.

"S-see you t-tomorrow?" Jay stammered hopefully.

I grinned. "Definitely. I can't do lunch, but I'll meet you after school?"

Lloyd beamed. "Great! See you guys then!"

Yeah, Lloyd Garmadon was a total sweetheart. I coasted through the rest of school, and walked out the main entrance. I couldn't wait to tell Kai about today.

"Nya! There you are!" Sally cried.

"Where'd you go?" Rumi demanded. "You said you'd be right back!"

"We were so worried!" Mei added.

Oh. I had completely forgotten about them. "Sorry, girls," I said sheepishly. "I was eating with Lloyd and Jay."

"Lloyd… You don't mean..." Mei gasped.

I rolled my eyes, but then I remembered I thought the same thing earlier. "Yes, Lloyd Garmadon. And he's not that bad. He's actually—"

"Son of the evil Lord Garmadon?" Sally added.

"Yes—"

"Oh, you poor thing!" Mei said, wrapping me in a big hug. I quickly shook her off.

"No. I actually wanted to be there," I snapped. "He's really—"

"You wanted to be there?" Rumi gasped.

"Nya, he's the most hated kid in the city! Not to mention he's the son of the guy trying to destroy Ninjago!" Sally cried.

I growled. Would they just let me finish a sentence? "He's a teenager. Just like us."

Mei shook her head. "No. Nya, you can't hang out with him anymore. He's evil!"

"Not to mention he's got a target on his back! You'll be bullied, outcasted, or worse!" Sally cried.

"Promise us you won't see him ever again!" Rumi demanded.

I glowered at them. I eat one lunch with Lloyd and this is how they react? They're being so... shallow!

"No!" I snapped. "You're wrong about him! And I'm not going to stop hanging out with him just because he's father's evil!"

The girls gasped. Finally, Rumi glowered. "Fine. Then I guess we can't be friends anymore."

I clenched my fists. "Fine!" I yelled.

"Fine!" And with that Rumi stomped away. Sally and Mei cast me sympathetic glances, and then they scurried after her.

I sighed. These were friends I had since elementary school. Why couldn't they see that Lloyd wasn't such a bad guy?

"You okay, sis?" Kai asked, jerking me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head. "My friends aren't who I thought they were," I muttered.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Me too."

He wisely left me alone after that.

* * *

The next day, I practically ran out the door to school. I needed to talk to Lloyd, and Jay too. I told them we'd hang out after school today, but after what happened with my friends, I needed to see them sooner. Kai went off with his friends, while I looked around for Jay and Lloyd.

I found Jay huddling in the archway. He looked like he was trying to hide, his face was pale and he was clutching his orange scarf. "Jay?" I asked gently. I didn't want to startle him.

He squeezed his scarf and tried to smile. "H-hey, Nya," he stuttered. "I-I got the parts you needed!" he reached into his backpack, pulling out a large bag and I gasped.

He really did it. He got the battery and the right wires... just like I'd described. I looked up at Jay and grinned. "Thank you!" I said. "This really means a lot to me."

Jay beamed. "No problem!"

I quickly put the bag in my backpack. I was not going to risk losing/dropping/damaging this. I had to to take out a lot of my books, but it was definitely worth it.

"Have you seen Lloyd?" I asked when I finished.

Jay shook his head. "Why?"

"I'd like to have lunch again today," I replied as I scanned the courtyard, but I couldn't see Lloyd anywhere. Although what was I expecting? He's the most hated kid in the school. He's not going to just be hanging out in the open.

"Oh, r-really? That's great!" Jay stammered. "But, uh, w-what about your friends?"

I sighed. "They're not my friends anymore."

"O-oh. I'm so sorry, I-I had no idea," he said.

"It's okay." Suddenly, a dash of green darted through the entryway. Was that…

Instantly people parted like the kid had the plague. Definitely Lloyd. I broke into a jog, but that kid was fast. He broke into the courtyard and scrambled up to the roof.

"Wait!" I cried. "It's me, Nya! I want to talk to you!"

Lloyd paused and lowered his hood. "You do?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'm free now, so I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch again."

Lloyd grinned. "Of course!"

The rest of the morning crawled by. Every time I saw my 'friends' they either glared at me or pretended I didn't exist. I sighed. Lunch couldn't come soon enough.

I grabbed my tray and brought my food all the way out to the courtyard, trying not to let any of it spill. If we kept doing this, I was going to have to start bringing my own lunch. Lloyd and Jay were already there.

"H-hey, Nya," Jay said, flashing a nervous smile.

"Hi," I replied.

"So what made you want to have lunch again?" Lloyd asked.

I frowned, thinking of my so called 'friends'. And I accused Kai of having bad taste.

"Not that I'm complaining," he added quickly. "It's just… unexpected."

My heart melted. Had no one been kind to him before? To be honest, I didn't really want to talk about what happened, not even to Kai, but looking into Lloyd's eyes, I just started talking.

"Rumi, Sally, and Mei, my—" I swallowed. "My friends, share the same lunch period. I was going to eat with them."

Lloyd nodded, and Jay fidgeted nervously. He knew how this was going to end. I could've stopped there. Lloyd was satisfied. He didn't need to know, but I kept going.

"But when they found out I'd hung out with you, they told me I could never see you again, and when I refused, they said we couldn't be friends." I drew in a sharp breath and rubbed my eyes fiercely.

"Just because I decided to eat lunch with the son of Garmadon," I finished bitterly.

Lloyd shrunk. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If it wasn't for me—"

"No," I said, cutting him off before he could finish that thought. "It's not your fault. They're the ones who are so narrow minded. You're the kindest, most innocent guy I've ever met."

Lloyd didn't meet my gaze. "Still…"

"I don't blame you," I insisted. "And neither should you. Besides, if that's how they're going to treat me, I'd rather hang out with you guys anyways."

Jay gaped. "Wow. You're so brave. I… I don't know if I could do that—g-give up my friends. If I had any."

I smiled gently. "Thanks Jay. You're a great person yourself."

Jay's eyes sparkled. "R-really?"

"Yeah," I said. I glanced back at Lloyd. "Both of you are. You deserve to have some real friends."

Lloyd blinked, then he slowly began to smile. "Thanks, Nya." He still looked a little lonely and sad though, like Kai after a really long day. But after living with my brother for the past thirteen, almost fourteen years, I had the perfect remedy for that.

I grinned. "Come here," I said and enveloped Lloyd in hug. He froze, then slowly relaxed, and even hugged me back. Mission accomplished.

I let go, and Jay tugged on his scarf. "C-c-can I— I mean, I'd like— i-if it's o-kay with you—"

I smiled. "Sure, Jay. You can have a hug."

He blushed and I gave him a small side hug. He was still blushing when I let go. He was kinda cute. With his freckles and all. Just then the bell rang.

"Well," I said. "See you guys tomorrow?"

"See you," they chorused. I smiled. I was glad I met them, no matter what Rumi or Sally or Mei say. Somehow, hanging out with Jay and Lloyd felt natural. Like family. I swung my backpack over my shoulder, a little heavier now with Jay's parts, and grinned. It was going to be a great school year.

* * *

**AN: So there you go. I had a harder time writing this chapter, but I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. Next up is Cole, but I'm not doing a re-hash of him meeting Zane. I tried it, and it didn't really work out with what I was trying to do. We'll just get right in to the good stuff. :)**

**See you all next week! Reviews are always welcome, and I appreciate all of you who have taken the time to review, favorite and follow this story. You guys are the best!**


	4. Cole: Part 1

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry this is late. I've had a lot going on and this chapter was just so long. In fact, I had to split it into two parts. Cole surprised me a lot. So I'll try to post the next part as soon as possible. For now, enjoy the first part!**

**Warning: This chapter gets depressing.**

* * *

**Cole**

The first day of high school started like any other for me. Well, except for Zane. Zane was… special. A bright spot in dull school life. Turns out, he's a pretty cool dude, even if he keeps insisting he's a 'normal' teen. And he's an amazing cook. That cake is to _die_ for.

Still, I'm not asking questions. If a guy wants to keep things private, he can. Totally get it. The first week of school went by like normal, slow and boring. Until Zane learned about something called a sleepover.

"I have heard friends have get togethers called 'sleepovers'," he said in his flat, yet strangely expressive voice. "Would you like to have one?"

I left my headphones on. Pretended to not hear. I hadn't a sleepover in forever. Not since Mom was around. But I mean, Zane was cool, and I found it hard to say no. I slid my headphones off.

"Sure. What time you want me to come over?"

Zane froze, and his piercing blue eyes got a sorta glazed look to them. "I am not sure you should come over to my house."

Oh. Well that's fine. So that means I just agreed to having Zane over at my place. "My dad's pretty chill. We'll go tomorrow after school."

Zane smiled, showing all of his teeth. "Great!"

I grinned back. Yeah. This was going to be fine. We'll put on some Eagles, a bit of Pink Floyd, maybe some Led Zeppelin, and I've got a PS4, eventually we'll make dinner, and if I'm lucky, Zane will make some more of that cake…

The next day, I met Zane at my locker and we walked out together after school. Me with my boom box, and him with… nothing. Well, he had a tiny backpack, but that looked like it barely held two textbooks.

"You need anything?" I asked.

Zane shook his head.

"You sure? If you're going to spend the night, shouldn't you have… something?" I wasn't trying to judge, but seriously. Shouldn't he have a toothbrush and pajamas at least?

"I have everything I need," Zane said, pointing his backpack. It was pretty small, but hey. If that's all he needs…

"Should I have brought more?" he asked.

"No. It's fine. Just making sure."

We got on the bus and sat in silence until we reached my stop. We had a bit of ways to go before we reached my dad's apartment, might as well start talking. "So, what do you want to do?"

Zane tilted his head. "What do I want?" he asked, softly enough to be thinking out loud but also strangely serious. Didn't he have preferences? Maybe I should give him some options.

"We can watch some movies, play video games or board games, whatever you prefer, put on some music, eat some pizza…" I glanced at Zane and added hopefully, "Maybe bake some of that chocolate cake?"

Zane grinned. "Of course."

"Great." We arrived at the apartment and I unlocked the door. Immediately, a deep soulful voice floated down the stairs. Great. Dad was home. I thought he was going to be at a gig for most of the evening, but whatever. Might as well get the embarrassing stuff out of the way.

Zane blinked. "What is that?"

"My dad," I replied. "Come on." Zane still looked confused, but followed me up the stairs without question. Probably should explain my dad to him. He can be kinda strange. He means well, but…

"My dad can get a little crazy sometimes," I began. How do I put this? "He takes his career very seriously."

Zane just stared at me like he was trying to understand, but really didn't. I sighed. I got that look a lot.

"Just, don't be weirded out," I said. I unlocked the door and there he was.

"Welcome home, Cole!" Dad sang. Zane blinked and turned to me as if to say 'what on earth'. I shrugged. This was pretty much everyday for me, even if it didn't really make sense.

Dad paused. "Who's this?"

"Dad, this is Zane. Zane, my dad. He's a friend," I said.

Dad grinned and offered out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Zane."

Zane slowly took my dad's hand, and then Dad shook so hard, I thought he was going to take my friend's arm off.

"We're going to get settled now," I said, and thankfully, Dad let go of Zane.

"Of course, of course," he said, and I quickly guided Zane toward my room. "Let me know if you need anything!" Dad called.

"We will!" I called back, even while shutting the door. I loved my dad. I really did. But sometimes I just needed a break. I set down my boombox and turned back to Zane, who hadn't moved from where I left him. Did my dad scare him that much?

"You alright? I know my dad can be a bit much..."

Zane shook his head. "No. It is just… different than I am used to."

I nodded. As long as he was okay. "So what do you want to do first?"

Zane tilted his head. After a moment, he said, "I have never played 'video games' before."

I grinned. "We're going to fix that."

* * *

Surprisingly, this was the most fun I've had in years. We played Fist to Face for a couple hours. Despite never playing video games before, Zane picked it up pretty quick. Soon, he was even giving me a run for my money.

My stomach growled, and my dad made pizza while we ran out to grab ingredients for cake. After dinner, the three of us (but mostly Zane) baked a rich chocolate cake. I had never eaten anything more delicious in my life.

Then we watched Starfarer. I wasn't a huge fan, but it was a classic and Zane had never seen it. Dad made popcorn, and it was actually really fun. Zane laughed in all the wrong parts and missed the actual jokes, but that was okay. It was nice just to hang out and chill with someone else for once.

Before long, Dad was insisting we went to bed. "You boys need your sleep after all." I pulled up a cot and was ready to sleep in it too, but Zane refused.

"I cannot take your bed and let my host sleep on cot," Zane said.

I shrugged. "It's fine, really. I can sleep anywhere." As long as I had my mom's records, I could sleep on the hard cold ground.

"Please, I insist," Zane said, blue eyes shimmering and I shrugged. It that's what he wanted…

"Okay."

I got up and began my bedtime routine. I slipped Bob Dylan's record out of its sleeve. He was one of Mom's favorites, and these songs always reminded me of her. I set the record in gently and adjusted the speed, and I could almost hear Mom guiding me through the steps. I pressed play, adjusted the arm, and then the beautiful music began to play. I immediately began to relax and I could already feel my eyelids drooping.

"What is that?" Zane said, jerking straight up.

"It's just some old music," I said. I know Zane didn't like to listen to music, but maybe he'd be alright… ?

Zane's eyes flicked and he froze. He probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep at all. I sighed. It's just one night. It'll be fine. I can sleep without music. I turned it off, and immediately Zane returned to normal.

He stared at me, and seemed to realize something was wrong. "You did not have to turn it off," he said.

I shook my head. "It's alright."

Zane frowned.

"Really," I said, climbing into bed to prove my point. "I'll be fine." I turned off the lamp and Zane slowly lay back down. I breathed a quick sigh of relief. It was going to be fine.

I pulled up the colors and sunk into my pillow and waited. I couldn't relax. I rolled over and waited. I shifted and readjusted the blankets and took a deep breath. The room was quiet. Too quiet.

I opened my eyes and stared at the darkness. Maybe if I waited long enough, I'd get tired enough and…

But after a few moments, I sighed. This wasn't working. I glanced over at where Zane should be sleeping. He seemed to be out cold. I couldn't hear him shifting in the cot. I couldn't even hear him breathing. The silence grated on my ears and I flopped back and groaned.

I guess I can't sleep without music. Maybe if I play it in my head? I knew all the words by heart. I imagined the crack of the record player, the opening chords, Mom dancing with Dad…

* * *

"_Once upon a time you dressed so fine…" Mom sang along with the record, swinging my arms. I giggled and sang with her._

"_People'd call, say 'Beware doll, you're bound to fall.' You thought they were all... kiddin' you." _

_I broke away and threw my arms in the air, spinning in circles. Mom laughed and twirled into Dad's arms and he kissed her. _

"_Gross!" I pouted. _

_Mom laughed, doubling over. Suddenly, she was coughing, falling to the ground. Dad was at her side in a minute. She was still coughing. Why was she still coughing? _

_I looked to Dad. He was frowning. He was scared. Something was wrong._

"_What's wrong with Mommy?" I cried._

_Dad didn't answer. He rubbed Mom's back until finally she stopped. She pulled back her hand and it was covered in blood. "It's a little cough, sweetie. I'll be fine. I just need a minute."_

_She smiled, and I smiled back. I believed her. _

* * *

I woke up in cold sweat. I shook my head. Why was I thinking about that now? I sighed and squeezed my eyes shut. Maybe if I think of a different song… one with happier memories...

* * *

"_Come gather 'round people wherever you roam…"_ _The record sang as I opened the door._

"_How was school, sweetie?" Mom asked, kissing me on the cheek._

"_Mom," I complained, wiping my cheek. "It was fine."_

"_You got on the bus, okay?" she asked._

"_Yep," I replied. _

"_My little boy is growing up," Mom said. "I'm so proud of you!" She pulled me into a hug and I grinned. I loved Mom's hugs. They always made me feel warm and safe. I closed my eyes and listened to the record._

If your time to you is worth savin'

Then you better start swimmin'

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'

_Finally, she pulled away. "You hungry? I can make you snack."_

_I nodded and my stomach rumbled. Mom laughed. "Sounds like I better hurry." I laughed and she ran to the kitchen._

_She pulled out cookies she made the other day and started pouring a glass of milk, humming to the record all the while. She turned, plate in one hand and glass in the other. I grinned and reached for the cookies—_

CRASH!

_Mom dropped the plate and the cookies, and she dropped to the ground. She wasn't moving._

"_MOM!" I screamed. I shook her shoulders. She still wasn't moving. "MOM!" I cried._

_Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned._

"_Mom?" I asked. She stirred, but she still wasn't getting up._

"_You okay?" I asked._

_Finally, she pushed herself up. "Yes, sweetie. Just embarrassed, that's all." She laughed, and I tried to smile. "I'll clean this up. Don't step on the glass."_

"_Okay," I said. I went back to the table, and Mom sang as she grabbed the broom._

"_There's a battle outside and it is ragin—" but then she started coughing and I winced. I hoped she was okay… Mom said she was okay… _

_She managed to sweep the worst of it away. I ran up to her and gave her a hug. "Mom!" I cried._

_She patted my head. "Let's go over to the couch, sweetie."_

_We sat down and stayed there. Mom stroking my hair and holding me, and me squeezing for dear life._

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast…

* * *

My eyes snapped open. Again. Why was I even having these nightmares? I hadn't thought about my mom's sickness in forever. My dad and I tried to think about the good times. I shook my head. Zane was asleep now, maybe I could listen to the record…

I fumbled in the dark, but then I realized I was probably going to break the record. And I couldn't do that. If I broke Mom's records… I don't know what I'd do. I lay back down. This time I'd just lie here. No more songs. No more memories. It'd be fine. I'll be fine.

I sighed. I was tired… I just couldn't drift off. The silence buzzed in my ears. Why was silence so loud?

_Well it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe..._

No. Not this song. I didn't need this now. I tried to shake the song out of my head but it just kept playing. Over and over and over…

_Look out your window and I'll be gone..._

I sighed and rolled over, the memory playing with the song, over and over and over…

"_Don't think twice, it's alright," I sang under my breath. I couldn't do the song justice, but—_

_Dad was crying. Dad never cries. Mom was in the hospital, but she said she was coming home soon. Did… did something happen? No. She'd be alright. Mom would come home smiling. It'll be alright. It'll be alright._

_Dad saw me and didn't even try to hide his tears. I froze. It'll be alright. It'll be alright._

_Dad wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight. "She's taken a turn for the worse," he sobbed. _

_No. I knew she was sick, but she was going to be okay. She was going to be okay. She had to be okay._

_I was in the hospital. Mom was so pale. The doctor came out._

"_I'm sorry," he began but I didn't hear the rest. She couldn't be gone, she couldn't. She was going to be alright. She was going to—_

* * *

_The memorial was going to start in a few minutes. I couldn't believe it. Mom was always so hopeful. She said she was going to fine. She was always smiling, always laughing. There was no way she could be gone._

_Dad had put on music. I couldn't believe it. How could he be playing music now? How could he after… now that Mom… when she couldn't hear it. My eyes watered. I wish… I wish Mom was still here. _

"_Cole?" Dad called. I rubbed my eyes and straightened up. _

"_Yes?" I said, my voice shaking._

"_We're going to be starting soon—"_

_I sniffed. We couldn't start. If we started… it'd be real. Really real. _

"_Oh, son," he said, pulling me into a hug. I stiffened. Mom's hugs were soft and warm… Dad's… it's just not the same._

"_Dad…" _

"_Yes, Cole?"_

"_Can you turn off the music?" I asked._

_Dad pulled away. "Oh, son. I can't."_

"_But without Mom…" I swallowed. I can't believe I just said that. _

_Dad shook his head. "Son, her music…. it's all we have left. She'd want us to keep listening… "_

_I cried. I didn't even try to stop it. I just cried and Dad held me._

* * *

_I lay in bed. I couldn't sleep. I needed Mom. I needed her smile. Her… her music. I got up and ran into Dad's room. _

"_Dad!" I cried. _

_He sat up and I swallowed. "Can I… Can I have Mom's record player? I… I can't sleep."_

_Dad nodded. "Of course, son."_

* * *

I woke up crying. I rubbed my eyes and wiped my face dry. I glanced at the clock. It was 5. I sighed. Might as well get up. I went to the bathroom and washed my face. If Zane saw that I'd been crying…

And while I'm at it, I should probably take a shower. I stayed in there longer than I had to. After everything… it was nice to soak in the warm water. The water ran down my face and back, washing all the dirt and grime and pain away. Finally, I turned the water off. Zane would probably be getting up soon.

Dad made pancakes and smothered them in chocolate and syrup. They were good, but I didn't really have any appetite. Soon Zane's dad came to pick him up.

"Thank you for having me over," Zane said, bowing his head slightly.

I smiled. "No problem."

"Feel free to come over any time," Dad called.

Zane smiled. "I appreciate your offer." He turned to me. "See you at school?"

"See you," I said. Somehow, Zane's smile grew even larger and he turned and got into his car. I watched him go, and then went inside and played some of Mom's music. I needed something soothing after a horrible night's rest.

* * *

"Hey, son? You alright?" Dad asked.

I pretended not to hear. I didn't want to talk right now, so I turned up my music instead.

Dad pulled off my headphones. "Hello?" he asked in his sing-song voice, waving his hand in front of my face. "Earth to Cole? I'm talking to you."

I frowned, but still didn't say anything. If I did, Dad would know about everything. He could just hear it in my voice.

"You alright?" he repeated.

"Fine." I reached for my headphones, but Dad pulled them out of reach.

"Cole… what's bothering you?"

"Nothing." I tried to reach for my headphones again, but Dad just tucked them behind his back.

"You want to sing about it?" Dad asked.

"No!" I growled. I definitely did _not_ want to sing.

"Okay," Dad said, straightening up. "If you want to tell me about it…"

"I'm fine," I snapped. Dad frowned, and I immediately regretted getting upset.

"I'm sorry. I'm just tired, and I didn't sleep well," I explained. "Zane couldn't sleep with music so I turned it off. Turns out I can't sleep without it." I shrugged. Hopefully that would satisfy him. I didn't want to mention Mom, but looking at Dad's face… I guess I didn't have to.

Dad nodded. "I understand, son. I can't sleep without her music either."

I didn't know what to say. Neither did Dad. Mom would break the silence with a joke or something that would make us all feel better. But she wasn't here.

"You know what always makes me feel better?" Dad asked suddenly. I blinked.

"Going to a musical!" he sang, a huge grin on his face. I froze. The problem was, Dad was actually serious.

"Come on. It'll be fun!" Dad said. He really wanted to do this.

I sighed and stood up. "Alright."

Dad's grin grew even wider. "Great! There's a show playing in few hours! I bet I can get tickets if I hurry."

And with that he took off. I shook my head and smiled. Dad absolutely loved musicals.

* * *

We got there early, of course. The orchestra began to play. It was gentle. Relaxing. My eyelids were so heavy… Maybe I could just…

* * *

"Son! Wake up!"

I blinked. I had only closed my eyes for minute… Screams pierced the air and everyone was bolting out of the theater. I sat up.

"What—"

"Garmadon's attacking!" Dad shouted. I scrambled to my feet and we bolted toward the exit. People were forcing themselves out the door. People shoved past me, and one man almost bowled Dad over. We weren't going to get out of here.

Dad grabbed my arm and began to sprint toward the stage. "I've performed here before. There's an exit backstage!"

I nodded and sprinted up the stairs and pushed past the curtain. Dad pulled me into the wings and I saw a flash of red and a stream of actors and crew filing outside. We bolted after them and made it, just as the first missiles hit.

Dad threw me to the ground under a bench and we covered our heads. A loud boom echoed across the streets, drowning out the screaming of the all the people around us. The shockwave echoed in my bones and dust filled my nose and coated my lips. I coughed, but more just kept coming, filling my throat and lungs. I couldn't breathe.

Dad pounded on my back and finally I could get enough air in my lungs. Barely. Dust still coated the back of my throat, and no amount of coughing could get rid of it.

"Son!" Dad shouted, then he immediately started coughing too. I grimaced. Fortunately, he managed to get his breath back and the coughing stopped.

As soon as I gathered enough air, I wheezed, "I'm okay." Dad didn't respond. I think he might have nodded, but I didn't want to open my eyes. There was still too much dust and debris in the air.

I don't know how long we stayed there like that. Felt like forever. Every Garmadon attack did. Finally, I heard a general shout, "RETREAT!" Feet pounded and the missiles faded away. The dust settled and I rubbed the dust off my face.

I opened my eyes. We were okay. Dusty and dirty and the street was completely destroyed, but we were okay. That's all that matters.

We crawled out from under the bench and slowly got up. Dad put his hand on my shoulder and I let him. We'd been through a lot. The walk was a haze. I mostly let Dad lead me home. We stopped, and I lifted my head. At first, I wasn't sure what Dad was doing. There wasn't anything here. Just a pile of rubble.

I looked around and my heart sank. This was our street. A closer glance at the rubble and I spotted our apartment complex sign. I could make out bits of broken furniture pieces sticking amount in the rubble. This _was_ our apartment. And Garmadon had destroyed it.

Dad and I just stood there and I couldn't quite believe it. Other people at school had lost homes to Garmadon before, and I walked passed a Garmadon shelter every day. I guess it shouldn't be that surprising that our apartment would get hit at some point.

I just never thought it would happen to me. I mean, after everything, home was a safe haven. It was always there. And now… it was gone. Everything was gone. The records that Mom had spent years collecting, her record player, _everything_. Gone.

I stumble forward. Maybe… Maybe there'd still be something in the wreckage. I looked around, but all I could see was broken pieces. I dropped to my knees and started shoving the grey building pieces out of the way. It should still be here. Everything was made out of pieces, so… it should be here. It has to be here.

I dig harder. I just have to keep looking. Suddenly, I spot a piece of a tonearm. My heart stopped. I recognized that tonearm anywhere. I dug around and found the remains of Mom's record player.

I picked them up in my hands and tried to piece it back together, but I couldn't see. I rubbed my eyes and my hand came back wet. I was crying. Again. I… Mom wouldn't want me to cry. She was always smiling, even when her sickness took a turn for the worse she was still smiling.

I sniffed and wiped my eyes. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. I'm not— I took a deep shuddering breath. Mom was gone. Our home was gone. Everything was gone. I clutched the pieces to my chest and choked back a sob. It'll be alright. It'll be alright. It will. It has to.

Dad put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. I sniffed. I closed my eyes and tears spilled down my cheeks. I couldn't help it. Everything was gone. Dad didn't say anything. We just stayed like that, me on the ground and Dad holding my shoulder.

* * *

**AN: So... what'd you think? Things will turn around for Cole in the next part, which I'll try to get out after I finish finals. So around Tuesday. I'll post sooner if I can. :)**

**Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys are the best! **


	5. Cole: Part 2

**AN: Hello everyone! I tried to post this as soon as possible and I hope this second part doesn't disappoint! I just wanted Cole to have a happy ending after his home got destroyed. I don't know when I'll be able to post the next chapter. I'm going to be working on Golden Master for awhile, since I've kinda neglected it. I won't give up on this story, and I'll try to post on my profile when I'll be posting again. I hoping to post within the next two/three weeks. **

**Enjoy the story!**

* * *

A gust of wind blew and I shivered. Dad gave my shoulder another squeeze. "Come on, son," he said, and I could hear a tremor in his voice. I looked up. His eyes were red and puffy. He'd been crying too. "Let's go."

We walked to the Garmadon Shelter and fortunately there was still room for us. They gave us a hot meal and room with a bed and a cot. The lady said we could stay as long as we need. Our spot would be reserved. The one nice thing about living in Ninjago: They did a good job taking care of their homeless. Being attacked all the time, they had to.

As we walked to our room, I heard people talking about how the old man had saved them again. It was amazing, really. One old man always stood up to Garmadon and always managed to send him back to the volcano. Today, though, I couldn't help but feel bitter. Why hadn't he stopped Garmadon sooner? Why couldn't he save my home?

But I pushed it aside. He was just one man. It wasn't his fault, I kept telling myself. I still didn't feel any better though.

* * *

First thing in the morning, I started putting record player back together. But I must have missed some pieces or dropped them or something, because I couldn't find the stylus, the pre-amp, or some of the pieces from the sides of the record player.

I could scrounge one-bys and two-by-ones anywhere for the sides. I'd have to buy a new stylus and pre-amp though. I could make it work. There was an old record store down the street that carried spare parts for record-players. Mom used to go there all the time.

Dad would lend me the money. Maybe I could pick up some new records while I was at it. Yeah. That could work. I put the record player in my backpack and went downstairs.

Dad agreed to let me go, but he insisted on coming with me. I agreed. He missed Mom's music too. We walked down the street and I gaped. Garmadon destroyed this neighborhood. Hopefully the record store was still around. I wasn't sure what I do if—

I stopped. Why? How could this even happen? Not only was the apartment gone, but the record store was completely reduced to rubble. It wasn't fair. How could Garmadon do this to us?

Dad put his hand on my shoulder. "It'll be okay, son. We'll think of something."

I didn't answer. I couldn't believe it. I remember coming here with Mom. I remember we came so often, the manager knew us by name. Now it was gone. Everything was gone, and I didn't know what to do.

* * *

I walked to school in a daze. I opened my locker and threw my backpack inside. Something rattled and I froze. I must have left the record player in my backpack. I unzipped it, and sure enough, there it was. In pieces. All that time I spent fixing it, taking care of it, and now it was broken.

I put it back together, zipped up my backpack, and sighed. Then I slung it back over my shoulders. I couldn't just leave the record player there alone and broken. I just… couldn't. I felt like I was abandoning it—abandoning Mom, by leaving it in a cold, dark locker.

"Hello, fellow teenager!" Zane called cheerfully.

I didn't want to deal with this right now. I wish I had my headphones so I could block everything out and have an excuse not to respond, but I had left them in the apartment before going to the musical. They were gone now. Like everything else.

"Hey," I muttered, trying to throw all my irritation into my voice and walked around him to get to class. Hopefully Zane would leave me alone. But, like usual, Zane seemed oblivious to social cues.

"How was your weekend?" Zane asked, sliding to catch up with me. "Mine was most enjoyable. My father managed to sell one of his inventions to the government and we went out to celebrate."

"Good for you," I grumbled, avoiding his question.

"I very much enjoyed our sleepover," he said in his energetic, yet flat voice. "Would you like to have another?"

"No." We couldn't even have one if I wanted to.

Zane blinked. "I can bring cake," he asked hopefully.

"No," I repeated, louder this time. Zane's face fell and his blue eyes dimmed. Guilt twisted in my stomach. It wasn't his fault, and I enjoyed having him over, it's just…

"My home was destroyed in the Garmadon attack," I said shortly.

Zane froze, and slowly bowed his head. "My condolences," he said softly. "I did not know."

I knew he was being sincere, but it just made me uncomfortable. "It's alright," I said, trying to shrug it off.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Zane asked. "I am sure my father could—"

"It's fine," I interrupted. We walked into class and I hoped that'd be the end of it. I never like sharing my problems or people feeling sorry for me.

"If you need any assistance, I would be more than happy to help," Zane said.

I glanced over at him. He looked dead serious. It was nice, in a way, even though I'll probably never take up the offer. "Thanks," I said. "I'll let you know."

Zane smiled, and I gave a weak smile back. I set my backpack down, more gently this time. Then, I remembered Zane's dad was an inventor. Maybe…

"Do you think you or your dad could fix this?" I said, quickly pulling the record player out of my bag and set it on my desk.

Zane reached for it and I nearly snatched it back, but I clenched my fists instead. He probably needed a closer look to make sure, but I couldn't help feeling overprotective. This was last bit of Mom I had left and I didn't want it to get ruined again.

Zane stared at it for a long time and I held my breath. Could he fix it or not? I needed to know. The suspense was killing me. Finally, Zane set the record player down and stared at me. I searched him for clues. Could he fix it?

"I have no knowledge of this artifact in my database," Zane began and my heart sank. I guess it was too much to hope, but Zane wasn't done. "I will do research, and I will do everything in my power to fix it."

I nodded. That… that would be amazing. My eyes watered and I tried to blink them away. This was a good thing. Why was I crying?

I turned back to Zane and he looked so serious. I knew I could count on him. I smiled. "Thank you so much, Zane."

Zane smiled. "You are welcome."

"Alright, settle down class," The teacher droned. "Today we will continue solving equations…"

I couldn't focus. All I could think about was Mom's record player was going to be fixed. It would probably take time, but it wasn't going to be broken forever. The bell rang and I went to the next class.

History was a blur too. I kept thinking about how long it would take Zane to do his research. How long would it take to get the parts? Would it take days? Weeks? Hopefully no more than a month, but… I just had no idea.

I felt bad. I knew Zane promised and would do his best, but I couldn't help but feel impatient. I don't know how many more sleepless nights I could take, and with the apartment gone… this was all I had left of Mom. I don't know how much longer I could wait.

Finally, I walked into science class, last one before lunch. Then I could talk to Zane some more. I didn't want to bother him, but the wait was eating me alive and only a few hours had gone by.

The teacher said something about a lab, but I couldn't focus. I leaned back and sighed. I saw fidgeting out of the corner of my eye, and it turns out the kid next to me couldn't focus either. I had seen him around in class before, I think his name was Jay. A real nervous kid, but he seemed extra fidgety today.

He kept glancing up to see if the teacher was watching, then glancing down at his lap, his hands moving like a blur. He wasn't on his phone like most kids. I leaned closer. What was he doing?

My eyes widened. He was building a record player.

Jay caught me staring and almost jumped out of his stool. "I-I'm sorry! I-I p-promise I'll do anything you want, p-please, I need to work on this. M-my parents have this order for a record shop a-a-and if they don't get everything fixed by—"

"Hey, it's okay," I said. I didn't mean to scare him, it's just… he's working on a _record player_. Maybe…

"I have a record player too," I said, trying to keep my voice level. I unzipped my backpack and pulled out the broken pieces of Mom's record player. My hands were almost shaking. Maybe I wouldn't have to wait. Maybe he could fix it right now.

"It got destroyed during the attack," I explained, "But maybe…"

Jay's eyes widened. "I-I… I don't know. Th-they want all the p-pieces back—"

"Please," I begged. "It was my mom's, before…" I shook my head. I wasn't going to cry in front of this random kid I hardly knew. He didn't move. I held my breath. Then he nodded.

I handed him the record player, and he looked over it, glanced at the blueprints, and then back at the record player. Then he pulled pieces off of the one he was working on and began to reassemble mine.

Before class ended, he handed it back to me. I grinned.

"Thank you so much," I said. "Jay?" I added, making sure I got his name right and he nodded.

"Y-you're wel-welcome," Jay stuttered. "And y-your name is?"

"Cole," I said. The bell rang and I started walking toward the lunch room. To my surprise, Jay followed me. He kept tugging on his orange scarf, like he wanted to talk to me but wasn't sure what to say.

"So, your parents build things?" I asked. Jay practically jumped, but I pretended not to notice. "That's pretty cool."

"W-well, they d-don't really—they own a junkyard. You know, th-the one d-down the street?"

I nodded, but Jay wasn't really waiting for an answer. He just kept rambling.

"A-after G-g-g— after the attack, w-we collect the-the remains, a-and s-sometimes the owners w-will pay us to fix it. O-otherwise w-we just recycle and build new stuff."

We came to the lunch room and began to fill our trays. I spotted Zane at a table in the back. He waved and I moved to join him. Jay stood awkwardly behind me. I turned around.

"You wanna sit with us?" I asked.

Jay blinked. "O-oh! I-I'd like to, I really would, b-but I'm eating with Nya and Lloyd, s-so I can't. Th-thank you, b-but I gotta go."

He turned and stumbled out of the lunch room. That was strange. I walked over to Zane and sat down.

"Who was that?" Zane asked.

"Jay. He's a guy in my class. He fixed my record player."

Zane's blue eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah, he's pretty cool. Real nervous, but a nice enough." I picked at my food. I wasn't really hungry and the cafeteria food was awful. The stuff at the shelter was better than this, and that was saying something.

"Where did he go?" Zane asked.

I shrugged. It wasn't really my business. "Said he was eating with Nya and Lloyd."

"Lloyd Garmadon?" Zane clarified.

I didn't ask. It didn't really matter. "I don't know. Probably."

"Do you think Jay will be alright?" Zane asked, his blue eyes wide with concern.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's fine." I had shared classes with Lloyd since middle school. He was actually pretty shy, not the evil spawn of Garmadon like everyone believed. I never really knew him, just spotted him in between classes, but from what I'd seen, he seemed like a decent person.

Zane nodded. We ate in silence, well, I did most of the eating. Zane hardly touched his food. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, his face was blank, but his blue eyes seemed vacant. Zane was in a whole other world, probably still thinking about Jay.

I sighed. "Do you want to go look for him?" Zane jerked up, but once he got over his surprise, he nodded.

We got up and walked out of the lunch room. I was sure Jay was fine, but Zane was the kind of person who worried about others. I respected that. It took awhile, but we finally spotted Jay sitting out in the corridor. He looked fine. It was hard to tell from here, but I could swear he was smiling. Maybe even laughing.

"See? He's okay," I said, and Zane hung his head.

"I just wanted to be sure," he said softly.

I frowned. I didn't to make him feel bad. "It's fine. Let's go." We turned, but Jay spotted us. He waved, and now the other two had noticed us. Great.

The girl, probably Nya, came up to the door and pushed it open. "Hey," she said. "You want to join us?"

Not really, but Zane was already nodding, a grin on his face. "Of course!" he said.

He started forward and I didn't really have a choice but to follow. I didn't really know any of these people, but Zane was the only really friend I had and I didn't want to sit by myself.

"My name's Nya," the girl said. "How 'bout you guys?"

"My name is Zane and this is my friend Cole," Zane piped up before I had a chance to answer.

"Nice to meet you," Nya said. We joined the circle and silence fell over the group. This is what I was afraid of.

Surprisingly, it was Lloyd Garmadon who broke the silence. "So, how are you?"

"I am quite well," Zane replied. Then everyone turned to look at me.

I shrugged. "I've been better."

"Oh," Lloyd said. Silence fell. I shifted awkwardly. I hated silence.

"You guys know any good record shops?" I asked at last.

"Record shops?" Nya asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "My collection kinda got destroyed, so I wondering if you have some recommendations." It was a long shot, but it was something to break the awkward silence.

Jay, Lloyd and Nya looked at each other, then turned back to me. "I mostly listen to digital music," Nya said. "Sorry."

"It's alright," I said.

"Have you tried looking online?" Lloyd asked.

I glanced at him. "Online?"

"Yeah. There's a lot of online catalogs. I'm sure you could order some there," Lloyd said.

I nodded. I hadn't even thought about it. Buying records had always been something personal. Going online just seemed too cold and distant, but thinking about it, it made a lot of sense. "Thanks," I said.

"M-my parents are rebuilding a r-record shop," Jay stuttered. "I-it'll probably take a while though."

I smiled. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"So why listen to records?" Nya asked. "Why not get an i-pod or something?"

"Well," I began, launching into a long explanation that led into a conversation about music. What we liked, what music we grew up with… it was a lot fun. The bell rang and we had to cut the conversation short.

"S-see you guys tomorrow?" Jay asked nervously.

I glanced at Zane and we both nodded. "Yeah," I said.

* * *

I don't when I stopped seeing them as strangers, acquaintances, but now when I went to lunch or saw them in the hallway, I didn't feel uncomfortable. I was actually glad to see them.

The emptiness in my chest wasn't really gone. I don't think it ever will. Mom was amazing and nothing could replace that. But being with Nya, Jay, Lloyd, and Zane eased it a little. They were good people.

I walked into school, and Jay was waiting for me. He always got to school early, maybe a nervous habit. He rambled on about this and that, but I didn't mind. Jay was a lot of fun to listen to.

Lloyd and Zane joined us a little while later, followed by Nya.

"Would you like to have another sleepover?" Zane asked me. The others looked up and Zane quickly added, "You all are welcome as well."

Lloyd blinked. He'd probably never been invited to anything in his life.

"I don't know if should sleep in a house with a bunch of boys, even if my parents would allow it," Nya said. "Sorry, guys."

Lloyd sighed.

"You don't have to sleepover," I said. "I don't think we have room in my new apartment anyways, but I'd like to have you over."

"I-I'd like that too," Jay said.

"What time?" Lloyd asked.

I shrugged. "Friday after school?"

They all smiled. "Sounds like a plan," Nya said.

I grinned. I couldn't wait.

* * *

**AN: I just want to thank all of you who continue to review this story and to those who've followed and favorited. ****You guys are amazing! Hope you all enjoyed this second part and I'll try to post Kai's chapter soon. See you all then!**


	6. Kai: Part 1

**AN:**** Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long. Kai was a lot harder to write than I thought, and a large part of this chapter is thanks to my sister. She helped me fix and make a lot of the scenes more natural. Hope you guys like it!**

* * *

**Kai**

Nya had been acting… weird. Weirder than usual. She was always talking about these new friends of hers. Jay gave her this, Lloyd said that. And then she kept asking if she could hang out with them, so the house was always empty. It was really getting on my nerves.

I would never admit it, but I missed my little sister. I lay in bed and checked my phone for the millionth time. Nothing. I didn't expect anything from my friends, but Nya? She always sent me a quick text when she was heading out or coming back.

I sighed and flopped back on the pillows. What was so great about these new friends of hers anyways? _I_ was going to get Nya the parts for her motorcycle. But of course _Jay_ had beaten me to it. But it wasn't a huge deal. Not really. It was just a motorcycle.

But it wasn't _just _a motorcycle to Nya. I knew how much it meant to her and I had been saving up for weeks so I could buy the parts and then Jay just _gave_ them to her. I sighed. It wouldn't be so bad if it had been one time, but now whenever Nya needed spare parts she went to Jay. We used to go shopping _together_. It seemed so long ago now.

I heard the faint sound of the garage door opening and I bolted down the stairs into the living room. It was too early for Mom to be home, so maybe… The door opened and Dad came through the door.

I tried not to be too disappointed. It was great that Dad was home. Really. But I was really hoping it was Nya. I shook it off and gave Dad a big hug instead.

"Oof!" Dad grunted. "I think you broke a rib." I quickly let go, but Dad was smiling, so it was just one of his jokes. I smiled. Something normal.

"It's good to see you," I said. And I meant it.

Dad grinned. "Good to see you too. How are you?"

My grin faded as I thought about the past week. Going to school, waiting for Nya, finding out she was with her new friends over and over again. That I wasn't good enough anymore. But I didn't want to Dad to know. I should be happy. We should be having a good time, not moping about Nya.

"Good," I replied.

"And how's high school?" Dad asked, then immediately he winced. "I can't believe I just said that. You've grown up so fast."

I laughed. Dad was always saying we grew up too fast. "It's fine."

Dad raised an eyebrow. "Just fine? That doesn't sound like my son."

I wasn't really feeling like myself today. I should be more excited. When Dad came home that meant playing baseball in the field and _actual _home-cooked meals, not just macaroni and cheese and those TV dinners… I sighed.

"I guess…" then I shook my head. "Never mind." I was going to have a good time with my Dad and Nya wasn't going to change that.

Dad frowned, but he didn't push it. "Where's your sister?" he asked.

I shrugged. "How should I know?" I asked bitterly.

Now Dad looked really concerned. "She didn't text you?"

I couldn't meet his gaze. "She's probably having too much fun with her new friends to text," I muttered.

"That doesn't sound like Nya," Dad said.

I didn't answer. It _wasn't_ like her, and I didn't know what to do about it. Dad seemed to understand. He always did.

"Well, I'm sure she'll be home soon," Dad reassured me. "You want to help me make dinner?"

I lifted my head and nodded. I was a terrible cook, but Dad was amazing. He even managed to turn my burnt disaster into something delicious. While we worked, Dad told me the highlights of work. Dareth had gotten himself in trouble again, even though he was only a janitor. Apparently, he had tried to fight off one of the shark generals single handedly, and of course, he hopelessly failed.

I laughed. It was nice to do something _normal _for once. Somethings would never change, even if Nya did. Speaking of Nya…

"I'm back," Nya called. She sauntered into the kitchen like everything was fine. The same as it always was.

"Good to see you," Dad said, giving her a quick peck on the check. "We missed you."

"You did?" she said, glancing at me in disbelief. I snorted. Of course I missed her. Nya glared and I rolled my eyes.

Dad glanced between the two of us and frowned. I turned away. I wasn't in the mood to be scolded. Besides, it was Nya's fault anyway. _She's_ the one ignoring me and going off with her new friends all the time.

"So how's my baby girl?" Dad teased.

"Dad!" Nya complained, but she was smiling and Dad laughed.

"Kidding, kidding," Dad said, but then he sobered up. "How's school?"

Nya grinned. "Great! I've made some really cool friends. In fact, Cole invited me over."

I frowned. She hadn't mentioned Cole before. Jay and Lloyd were bad enough, but now Nya has three new best friends?

"Really?" Dad asked, raising his eyebrows at me. I sighed. He was trying to get me to laugh, but it wasn't going to work. "How are your classes?" He asked.

Nya pulled a face. "Fine."

Dad laughed, and pulled the chicken out of the oven. It was breaded and cooked to golden-brown perfection. I sniffed and my mouth watered. Smelled heavenly too.

Dad waved the steam away while Nya and I grabbed plates and silverware. We helped ourselves to chicken and Dad poured the vegetables. Soon we were all seated at the table and digging in. I couldn't stop eating. It was delicious.

"Slow down, Kai," Dad said. "You're inhaling the food."

I stuffed another bite in my mouth and Nya laughed. I glared at her. She was eating just as quickly as I was. I swallowed and took a drink of water.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "It's just sooooooo good."

"Stop it," Dad laughed. "It's just chicken."

Nya shook her head and for once we were in agreement. "It's good to have you back," she said.

Dad smiled, but there was something sad about it. "It's good to be home."

The garage opened again and this time Mom came in. She saw the three of us sitting around the table and she froze. "Ray…?" she whispered.

Dad stood up. "Yes, dear?" he asked. "There's chicken waiting for you, it might be a little cold but—"

Mom laughed, and tears spilled down her cheeks. I stared at my plate. Dad coming home was a surprise, and I knew that one day he might never come back, but he's home now. There's no reason for Mom to cry.

"Why didn't you text me?" Mom asked.

"I'm sorry, Mya, I didn't think—"

A loud beep filled the house.

"Ray…" Now Mom was annoyed, but there was a smile on her face. "You left the oven on again, didn't you?"

Dad laughed nervously. "Oops?" he said.

* * *

After Mom turned off the oven, she and Dad went upstairs to catch up, leaving me and Nya to clean up the dishes. We couldn't afford to fix the dishwasher, so we had to wash them by hand.

I didn't mind. It gave me time to think and an excuse to be with Nya. Even if we weren't saying anything, her just _being here_ was enough. I started taking longer and longer with the plates. Each tiny speck had to be washed off before I handed them off for drying. Who knows if Nya would stay after chores were done?

Finally, Nya huffed. "Can you wash those plates any slower? At this rate, we might be here all week!"

"What's the rush?" I snapped. "Can't wait to hang out with your new friends?"

Nya snatched the plate from me. "No," she hissed. "I just don't want to be drying dishes forever."

I snorted. "Sure."

Nya glared at me. "What's wrong with spending time with my friends? You never had a problem with it before."

I nearly dropped the glass in the sink. What's wrong? How could she say that?

"_Before_ you didn't hang out with your friends 24/7."

Nya dropped the rag, chores forgotten. "I do not!"

"Yes you do!" I yelled. "And when your not with them, it's always _Jay's _sooo _amazing, Lloyd is _such _a sweetheart. I _can't wait _to spend time with my new best friends,_" I said in my most annoying, high-pitched voice, the one that grated on Nya's nerves.

Nya cheeks flushed. She was beyond angry now, but I couldn't stop.

"You never have time for me anymore. Remember when we used to _do _stuff together? I helped you buy that motorcycle remember? I started a lawn mowing business and raked all those yards and shoveled driveways so we could work on it _together_. But when Jay comes along and gives you the last missing parts you need, _that's all you talk about!_ If your friends are so great, why don't you just go over and live with them, since you obviously care more about them than you do about me!" I shouted in her face.

"That's not true!" she screamed, tears brimming in her eyes. I didn't care. This was her fault. She did this. Not me.

"It sure seems like it," I growled.

Nya crossed her arms. "You know what I think?" she snapped. "I think you're jealous."

"Jealous?" I scoffed.

"Yes!" she said. "You're jealous because I finally have some decent friends who actually care about me and you don't!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"Is it?" Nya asked, and I couldn't answer. I couldn't think. What did my friends have to do with this anyway? This was about Nya and her friends, not mine.

"That's what I thought," Nya said, like she'd just won, even though she hadn't. "I'm going upstairs."

I watched her go. I couldn't move. My chest aches and there's this _rage_, pure rage burning through me. My heart was beating a hundred miles a minute, blood rushing through my ears, and I couldn't think.

Then Nya was gone. Again. I spun around and kicked the wall, throwing all of everything in it. Then the pain exploded and all the anger disappeared. I clutched my toe and sank to the ground. What was on earth was I thinking?

This time _I_ pushed her away. I did this. I told her to go live with her friends when that's the _last_ thing I could _possibly _want. Why? Why did I say that? Maybe Nya was right. Maybe I _was_ jealous. Maybe I should go… no. I couldn't apologize. She started this. This was Nya's fault.

But…

Guilt clawed at my stomach. I climbed up the stairs, but then I paused. What should I say? I just told my own sister to go away forever. How do I fix that? How _could _I fix that? I sighed and went to my own room instead.

* * *

"Kai?" Mom asked, cracking the door open. "I heard yelling. Is everything alright?"

I rolled over and groaned. I didn't want to talk about this right now. Or ever.

Mom sat down next to me and began to stroke my hair. I twitched away. I hated it when people touched my hair.

Mom sighed. "Is it that bad?"

I buried my face in the pillow and didn't answer.

"Nya won't talk to me either," Mom said. "What's wrong?"

I froze. Nya wasn't talking? Did I hurt her that badly? Did she hate me?

"Kai…"

I jerked my head up and yelled, "Just leave me alone, okay? I know I messed up, but I can't fix it and you can't help me!" I flopped back into the pillow.

There was silence. Then Mom spoke, "You don't have to tell me. I've been through this same thing with my siblings."

I lifted my head up slowly. "You have?"

Mom nodded. "My sisters and I would get into fights all the time. This one time…" Mom shook her head and chuckled. "I actually broke Aylssa's nose."

I gasped. "What happened?" I asked.

"Well," Mom sighed. "It was pretty foolish, looking back, but she was calling me a baby and she wouldn't stop no matter what I did, so I punched her in the face." Mom shook her head again. "I was a very different person then."

"So how'd you make up?" I asked. I knew Aunt Aylssa and Mom were close now… maybe… maybe Nya and I could do the same.

"Well, it took several apologizes, a lot of heartfelt conversations, and most importantly, time," Mom replied. I stared at my feet. I didn't want it to take time. I wanted to be close with Nya now.

Mom put her hand on my shoulder. "But Aylssa and I worked through it. It turns out she was jealous since I was the baby of the family and got most of my parents' attention. But once we were open with each other, things got better."

I couldn't look at Mom. I knew she wanted me to open with Nya, tell her what was going on, but I just… I don't know.

"I know you love your sister," Mom continued. "And I know you two are close. If you talk to her, I'm sure you can work through this, no matter what you did."

But it wasn't _all_ my fault either. None of this would have happened if Nya wasn't gone with her friends all the time. Sure I shouldn't have told her to go _live_ with them, but—

"It's just… she's the one who's ignoring me, spending all her time with her new friends. I know I shouldn't have said what I did, but… I can't talk to her."

That sounded really bad now that I said it out loud. I messed up. I should apologize. But Nya hurt me. And I wanted her to apologize first.

Mom frowned and pulled me into a hug. "You're hurting," she whispered. "I get it. We all hurt each other at some point. But you know what?"

I glanced up. "What?"

Mom smiled. "At some point, we have to be the bigger person and apologize first, so we can start to heal. If you don't talk to Nya, how are you going to fix this?"

"I don't know," I said. But I didn't _want _to talk to Nya. I just wanted to go back to the way things were before Nya met ever met her new friends.

Mom frowned. "Let me ask you a question. Are you sorry for what you did?"

I broke away from Mom's embrace. "Of course!" I snapped. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Then why don't you want to talk to her? Don't you want her forgiveness?"

I growled. "I _do_, but—"

"Then let's go," Mom said. "Tell her you're sorry, and then you can tell her how you feel."

I opened my mouth, but Mom cut me off. "And this time, you'll do it right."

I frowned. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try… And Mom wouldn't give up until I did. I sighed. "Fine."

Mom smiled. "Thank you, Kai."

* * *

Everything in me was screaming that this was a bad idea, but I couldn't lose Nya, and if this made it better… I swallowed and pushed on the door, but it was locked. Great. On the bright side, I can't say I didn't try.

Then I heard choked sobs on the other side of the door. Nya was… crying? No. That couldn't be— another sob cut me off. I swallowed. I couldn't leave her alone now.

I took a deep breath and knocked. "Nya?" I asked carefully. The sobs immediately stopped.

"What'd you want?" she said after a moment.

"I—" My voice cracked and I tried again. "I wanted to talk to you. Can I come in?"

Silence. Then, I heard a click and the door creaked open. Nya's eyes were red and puffy and I froze. Nya really _had_ been crying. I couldn't believe I'd—

"Are you coming or what?" she asked.

"I'm coming," I said quickly. I followed Nya inside and went to join her on the bed, but she shot me a look and I stayed standing.

"So…" Nya asked and I swallowed.

"Look," I began. "About what I said… I—" Come on. Just say it. Why was this so difficult?

"I don't really want you to leave. I don't know what I was thinking." I said.

Nya didn't say anything. She didn't even look at me.

"I miss you," I blurted. I just had to fix this. "Nya, I love you so much and I don't want you to leave ever." Nya kept staring at the ground. I couldn't even tell if she was listening, so I said, "I'm sorry, okay?"

I waited, but the silence was killing me. "Say something!"

I held my breath, trying to give her time to answer, but Nya didn't even move. "Nya, I'm _sorry_." I repeated. Hoping if I say it enough times everything will be okay.

"I didn't _want_ to hurt you. You were right. I was jealous. I was jealous of your friends because you're amazing and we used to spend so much time together and now..." I couldn't finish.

"I know," Nya whispered. "But we can't spend every minute of the day together. That's not good for either of us."

"I know," I growled. That's not what I was saying at all! "I just want us to spend _some _time together. How long has it been since we've hung out, just the two of us, or even together with a group of friends?"

Nya glared at me. "It's just been a week."

"Yeah, and that's when you met your new friends!" I shouted. Nya dropped her gaze and I sighed. I didn't want to make things worse. I took a deep breath and tried to remember Mom's advice. _Tell her how you feel. _If only it were that easy.

"I just want to spend some time with you. Is that too much to ask?" I said, hoping that she would say no and apologize for spending so much time with her friends and everything would go back to normal.

Nya sighed. "Of course we can spend time together, and I'm sorry if I've been ignoring you."

Yes! That was probably as good as it was going to get. I grinned, but Nya wasn't done yet.

"But I also want to spend time with my friends too. They're great people, maybe if you meet them, give them a chance…"

Meet them? I didn't want to meet them! I wanted to spend time with Nya—

My sister gave me a look that told me she knew exactly what was going through my head and I needed to stop or else. I sighed. Being ten months apart meant we were really close, which was great, but sometimes it got on my nerves.

"You said you wanted to spend time with me," Nya said. Why was she twisting my own words against me? That's not fair.

"Come on," Nya said. "Don't you want to meet the people I've been spending so much time with?"

I did… but I wanted to spend time with _just _my sister. I know that sounds really selfish, but it'd been a week and I missed Nya. A lot.

"Think about it okay?" Nya asked.

I sighed. "Okay."

Nya grinned. "Thank you, Kai." And I could tell she really meant it.

"So what time is it?" I asked.

"Friday after school at Cole's apartment. You can ride with me if you want," Nya said.

Well, I said I wanted time with just her, and the ride would give us some time, not a lot, but still. It's a start. Plus, Nya seemed really excited about this. Her eyes glowed and I could just tell she really wanted me to say yes.

"Alright," I said. "I'll do it."

She jumped up and before I even knew what was happening her arms were wrapped around me. I stiffened. Usually I was the one who gave out hugs and Nya pushed me away.

"Thank you," she said. Nya was trying to sound calm, but I could tell she was really excited about this.

I grinned and squeezed her back with the full force of a famous Kai Smith-patented hug.

"Kai!" Nya protested, but she was laughing, and her struggle was more for show than anything else. "Let go of me."

I loosened my grip, but I couldn't bring myself to let go just yet. "You're welcome," I whispered.

"You're welcome?" Nya laughed. "You nearly squeeze me to death and all you can say is you're welcome?"

I broke away so I could look Nya in the eyes. "You said thank you earlier, so I'm saying you're welcome."

"Oh. That. It's no big deal, really. If you want to take the car, I'm sure we could work something out, or I'm sure one of the guys would be happy to give you a ride—"

"Nya," I cut her off. "If I'm going, I'm going with you."

Nya smiled and I knew we were going to be okay. Now it was time to lighten the mood a bit. All this heavy, sappy stuff was too much for me.

"Besides, you know you enjoyed it," I said with a smirk.

"What?"

"My bone-crushing hug. You know you like them."

"For the last time, no. I don't. I like all my ribs intact, thank you very much."

"Then why'd you hug me? You knew I was going to hug back."

Nya rolled her eyes and huffed. Meaning she didn't have a comeback. I grinned and Nya quickly made an excuse about not thinking and a bunch of nonsense.

"Sure," I said, cutting her off. I won this one, and she knew it. Nya shook her head, and I turned to leave. I'd learned the hard way it was better to quit while I was ahead.

"Kai," Nya called, and I turned around, but Nya wasn't meeting my gaze. Was it something I said? Did I hurt her somehow?

"Listen, Kai, I wasn't trying to ignore you… I guess I got a bit carried away. But when you meet them I'm sure you'll understand. They're really amazing people, and it's just so easy to hang out with them, you know?" She was rambling now, but what mattered was she was apologizing. She was sorry. "Nobody could ever replace you, Kai."

"Not even your amazing friends?" I asked. I had a feeling I knew the answer, but I had to hear it from Nya.

Sure enough, she shook her head. "Not even them."

I smiled. We were going to be okay. "Good," I said firmly.

Nya raised an eyebrow, "Still as possessive as ever, aren't you?"

"You know it," I replied with a smirk. Some things would never change and I wanted to keep it that way. Nya shook her head, but she was smiling. I took that as my cue to leave.

"See ya in the morning, sis," I called as I swung the door shut.

"See you then," she replied, so easily and care free, like it was a fact. I grinned and flopped down on the bed. I didn't want to admit it, but I was kinda looking forward to Friday.

* * *

**AN: So there will be a part two in which Kai meets the other ninja, but until then I hope you enjoy this installment with Kai and family. I looked at the word count and decided it would be best to split it here. Hopefully I'll get the other part up soon. See you all then!**


	7. Kai: Part 2

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry I took so long! A lot of things happened in my life and this chapter was giving me a lot of trouble. My sister became my unofficial beta reader for the entire thing and she deserves a lot of the credit for how this chapter turned out. She helped encourage me, reminding me it's okay to let my characters make mistakes, even the ninja.**

* * *

When Friday finally did come, time seemed to crawl, like every clock and been deliberately slowed down to torture me. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. The teacher's voice grated in my ears and my eyes started to droop...

Something hit me in the shoulder and I jerked around. Gene, one of my best friends, kept a neutral expression on his face, but I knew he was the one who'd tossed the crumpled paper wad. I frowned. _What are you doing?_ I mouthed.

He briefly met my gaze, then nodded his head toward the ground where the paper had landed. I sighed. _Seriously?_ There are easier ways to pass a note than hitting me with it. Gene just gave me a small smirk. He had a weird sense of humor, but he, Brad, Jack and Travis accepted me back in middle school and we'd stuck together ever since. They were good people. Despite what Nya said.

Our biology teacher, Mrs. Wolf, glanced other to our side of the classroom and I pretended to pay attention. Unicellular Organisms were written up on the chalkboard with little arrows pointing to Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryotes. I didn't know when I would ever use this again in my life. I wasn't planning on going into medicine and definitely not biology. As soon as she turned again, I reached down and picked up Gene's note.

_Going to my house Saturday. Got something REAL big planned. You in?_

I glanced at Mrs. Wolf to make sure she wasn't looking and quickly scrawled back: _Of course!_

Don't know why Gene didn't just text me. He _did_ have my number right? Whatever. I was just glad to be included for once. I turned back around and passed it back to Gene.

"Kai," Mrs. Wolf said sternly. Oh no. "Would you like to read your note out loud to the class?"

Some of the people next to me began to snicker. "Busted," someone whispered.

"No, ma'am" I replied, and she just raised an eyebrow.

"Then perhaps you should stop writing, and instead tell me the difference between a prokaryote and a eukaryote."

Uh… I had absolutely no idea. I glanced at the board for a hint, but there were no definitions, only Eukaryote and Prokaryote under the umbrella of Unicellular organisms.

"Well," I said slowly, trying to buy myself some time to say _something_, "A, uh, prokaryote is… um..."

Mrs. Wolf sighed. "Spare me. Since you clearly haven't been paying attention, it seems I'll have to assign you more homework to compensate."

I opened my mouth to complain, but she shot me a 'don't you even think about it' look. Gene snickered. Of course _he_ thought it was funny. He was the one who passed the note in the first place.

"Would someone like to help Kai out?" Mrs. Wolf asked. "Yes, Gene?" I rolled my eyes. He just had to rub it in my face, didn't he?

"A prokaryote doesn't have a nucleus and a eukaryote does," he replied.

Mrs. Wolf smiled. "To put it simply, yes." And then she launched back to her long boring lecture. Maybe if I was lucky she'd forget about the extra homework.

* * *

"Kai," Mrs. Wolf scolded. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

I froze, then slowly turned around, trying to plaster an innocent smile on my face. "What?"

She glowered. "Your assignment." She held out a thick packet that would probably take an hour or two to finish, if I wanted to do it well, anyway.

I took it and stuffed in my backpack.

"And Kai, don't even think about skipping this assignment. If you don't do it at home, I would be more than happy to arrange detention instead."

And Mrs. Wolf would too. I swear she took pleasure in torturing kids. Why she decided to become a teacher was beyond me. If I got another detention, Mom and Dad would _not_ be happy, and if I ever wanted to leave the house again, I was going to have to do the entire thing, no shortcuts allowed.

"I wouldn't dream of it," I muttered sarcastically.

Mrs. Wolf crossed her arms, but didn't comment. "Good," she said.

I got out of her class as quickly as I could. I sighed. At least the day was finally over, and now I got to spend time with Nya. And her friends, but mostly Nya. I followed the crowd out to the front and spotted my sister on the curb with her motorcycle. I made my way over and she grinned.

"You ready to go?" Nya asked, revving the engine.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied, sliding in behind her. The motorcycle was built for one, but we were small enough to both squeeze on the seat. Nya waited for me to get comfortable and then she shifted into first gear and pulled out of the school.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.

Nya shrugged and quickly accelerated. "I don't know. You're just quieter than usual."

"I've just got a lot on my mind. Where are your friends?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"They're going to meet us there," Nya replied. "I told them to go ahead while I waited for you. Figured you'd want some privacy."

"Thanks."

We talked about small stuff the rest of the way, the likelihood of another Garmadon attack, the release of the new Borg watch—ridiculously expensive, but it looked awesome—the latest mech designs Nya and I had been thinking about. Not that we had the stuff to build them, but it was fun to dream.

"Well, here we are," Nya said, jerking me out of my thoughts. That was surprisingly fast.

I jumped off the motorcycle and waited so Nya could take the lead. Soon, we were buzzed in and walked up to the second floor. I paused outside the door. This was it. Time to meet the people Nya spent so much time with.

"Come on, Kai!" Nya called, letting the door swing shut behind her. I quickly grabbed it before it closed all the way and snuck inside. It was pretty small and sparsely decorated, but then again, Nya said they'd just moved after the Garmadon attack. I followed my sister down to the living room.

"Hey, guys," Nya said. "This is my brother, Kai."

I waved. "Hello."

"Hello," the three of them echoed.

"Feel free to make yourself at home," a buff guy with headphones said.

"Thanks…" I said slowly fishing for a name, but he was too wrapped up in his headphones to hear me. "Um…"

The kid next to him with freakishly blue eyes nudged the guy's shoulder and he finally pulled off his headphones. I frowned.

"You need something?" he asked.

"Your name?"

"Cole," he said, completely missing the annoyance in my voice. I sighed, and he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh right, I haven't introduced you to the others yet," Nya interrupted quickly, as if she could sense my mood. "This is Zane." She gestured to the guy with almost glowing blue eyes and he perked up.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," he said in a monotone voice with a strange overly excited smile. It was kinda creeping me out.

"And this is Jay," Nya continued. A small mousy kid dropped his gaze and tugged on strange orange scarf. This was Jay? The guy who bought motorcycle parts for Nya? I'd seen him in a couple of my classes. He was so… shy.

"H-hey," Jay said.

I nodded and that seemed to make him feel a little better. I glanced around the room. "Isn't there supposed to be another one?"

"Lloyd?" Nya asked. "I don't know. He was here at school today…"

Suddenly the door opened and a blonde kid with four pizzas came in. "Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late. I was just grabbing the pizza."

I gasped. "Lloyd Garmadon?"

The son of the most evil villain ever had the nerve to look embarrassed. "That's me," he said.

I glanced between him and Nya. "You're friends with Lloyd Garmadon?"

Nya frowned. "Yeah, who else did you think I was talking about?"

"I don't know!" I snapped. "Some other Lloyd?"

"How many Lloyds do you know?"

"Well, I thought you had better sense then to hangout with the evil son of Lord Garmadon!"

"H-hey! L-l-leave Lloyd alone!" Jay stammered. "H-he's not evil."

"His reputation is falsely earned," Zane added. Cole nodded and the three of them took a defensive position around Lloyd. I gaped. I can't believe they're defending him! Dad had always warned us that Garmadons were not to be messed with. They were evil and caused nothing but trouble.

I glanced at Nya and she bit her lip. "Kai, please. If you just got to know him—"

"I don't want to get to know him!" I yelled, and she flinched like she'd been struck. I froze, but just as quickly her gaze hardened and she sent me a death glare.

"Fine. If you don't want to hang out with my friends, then you can leave."

I clenched my fists and practically growled. "Fine! I will! See if I care!"

I turned and stomped out of the apartment. I couldn't believe her. How could she do that? Lloyd was evil. The entire city—including Dad— said so. What was she thinking?

I twisted the handle, but the door wouldn't budge. I growled. Why wouldn't it open? Finally, I slammed my shoulder into the door and it swung open. I stumbled out into the open air, and fell down the step. I flailed my arms, trying to catch my balance, but it was too late. I slammed into the pavement and all the air was knocked out of me. My palms burned and my bones ached. Yep. I was going to feel that tomorrow. I groaned. The world was just out to get me today.

I pushed myself back up and hopped on the motorcycle, grumbling the whole way. I glanced at the ignition and it dawned on me. I didn't have the keys. I couldn't get home. Unless I wanted to ask Nya for help. I groaned. I'd rather walk than face Nya, so I slid off and started the long trek home.

* * *

Fortunately I had some cash on me and was able to catch a bus back to my neighborhood. I didn't want to face Nya right now. We finally managed to make up and now, right as we were about to spend time together, we got into another fight.

I huffed. At least I was hanging out with Gene and the others tomorrow. That would give me a break from all this. I flopped down on my bed and closed my eyes. At least things couldn't get any worse…

* * *

Gene's house wasn't far, so I just sent a text letting Mom know where I was at and left the house. Turns out I was the first one there. Oh well.

We both sat down on Gene's couch and waited for the others to arrive. Gene immediately pulled out his phone, leaving me alone with my thoughts. After a few minutes, or maybe it was more like seconds, I couldn't stand the silence.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," he mumbled back.

"So what's this big plan of yours?" I asked.

"I'll tell when the others get here."

"Okay." I paused and fiddled with my own phone.

Nya: where are you

I frowned. I did not want to deal with this right now.

Nya: we need to talk

I quickly shut off my phone before she could send me anymore messages. I sighed. I probably should answer. It's not like I have anything better to do. I glanced at Gene. Still on his phone.

"When are the others coming?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Soon." Gene replied. "Why? You in a hurry?"

"No. I mean, I've got some biology homework, but…"

"Saving it for Sunday night?" Gene finished with a smirk.

"Monday morning," I joked right back. We laughed and then silence fell between us again. Hopefully the others would get here soon. This was getting long past awkward. Gene went right back on his phone and I was left staring at the ceiling.

It was one of those popcorn designs with all the bumps and stuff, so, with nothing better to do, I started counting them. I made it to about a hundred before I gave up. I kept losing count and forgetting which ones I'd counted and which I hadn't.

Finally, the door opened and Brad came in. I breathed a sigh of relief. Someone else to talk to. We exchanged greetings and started about school.

"You know, there's this cute girl who sits in front of me in my biology class," Brad said.

"Yeah?" I said, kinda curious, as long as we weren't talking about my crushes. "Who is she?"

Brad smirked. "Your sister. Why didn't you ever tell me she was so hot?"

I gaped. Nya? Hot? "You're joking right?"

"No, I'm serious," Brad said, and he looked it too. "I was sitting behind her in class, and I was like, 'hey, she's kinda cute' and then she turned around and, man, was she beautiful. Then the teacher did roll call and then I realized it was your sister. So, can you give me some tips? Introduce me?"

I blinked. This couldn't be happening. Brad wasn't even Nya's type. "Uh, no," I said flatly. End of discussion. Brad was not getting together with my sister.

Brad frowned. "Why not?"

"Because… you and my sister… just, no," I said shaking my head.

Gene laughed. "Kai's jealous."

Brad laughed with him and I frowned. "I'm _not_ jealous. It's just I don't think Nya'll be interested."

"What'd you mean? How can she not be interested in all _this_?" he said, gesturing to toned body and flashing a cocky grin. Then he and Gene burst into laughter. And that's exactly why Nya wouldn't like him. Brad was a nice enough guy, but…

"Trust me," I said. "You're _not_ her type."

The door opened again and I was glad for the distraction. Brad couldn't seem to get it through his thick skull that he should just leave my little sister alone.

Travis strutted through the door, Jack right behind him. The two of them were neighbors and often hitched rides together.

"So what's this big plan of yours?" Travis asked.

Gene pocketed his phone and grinned. "You all heard about the latest Borg watch release, right?"

We all nodded. Borg announced his latest invention on the big TVs spread across Ninjago, not to mention posted all over the internet. There was no way to miss it.

"Looks pretty sweet, huh?" Gene said. I glanced at Brad, Travis, and Jack, but they looked just as clueless as I did. At least I wasn't the only one.

"Yeah, it looks cool," Travis said slowly. "It's fitted with all the latest technology."

Gene nodded. "Everyone wants one. It's a status symbol."

"But it's also over a thousand dollars," Brad pointed out.

Gene just grinned. "Yes. That's why it's so coveted. Not just anyone can have them."

Where on Ninjago was this going?

"We don't have that kind of money," I said. None of us were that rich. Our parents pooled most of their money into insurance and repairs for Garmadon attacks. We didn't have the luxury of buying Borg appliances.

Gene's grin grew wider. He was enjoying every minute of this. "That's why we're going to steal it."

The rest of us froze. "What?" Travis finally asked.

"You're not serious," I said, still not believing that my friend wanted to steal a Borg Watch.

"You can't just walk into Borg store and take a Borg Watch!" Jack exclaimed.

"Yeah, do you want us to all get arrested?" Brad demanded.

"Let me explain," Gene said, straightening into his planning/lecturing mode. "You see, Ninjago Mall is going out of business, so, to bring in more sales, they gambled their money on Borg Watches. Now, at the same time, the mall doesn't have the money to pay for security. Besides, with Garmadon recruiting every villain in sight, there hasn't been any petty crimes in years."

Jack's eyes gleamed. "So it'll just be in and out?"

Gene nodded. "Exactly."

"Cool," Brad said, Travis nodding right along with him. I gaped. I'd known they'd done some crazy things, but stealing?

"Isn't that extreme?" I asked. "It's just a watch."

Gene shook his head, and the others looked at me like I was crazy. "Kai, Kai, Kai," Gene scolded. "It's not just a watch. It's a premium _Borg Watch_. If you had the money, wouldn't you buy it?"

"Well sure, but—"

"Come on, it's not like we're going to get caught. We've pulled crazier stunts before," Gene inisisted.

"Yeah, but those were dare-devil, taking life into your own hands. This is completely different!"

"Come on, Kai," Brad said. "Don't you want to join us?"

"You don't have to actually steal," Jack added. "You can just be lookout."

"Yeah. We'll still get you a watch."

"Come on, Kai."

"I don't know…" I said. This still didn't feel right. Even if I wasn't the one actually stealing.

"Please?"

"Come on, man. Just join us."

"Don't be a wet blanket."

"I invited you here because I thought you were my friend."

But I _was_ their friend! I stared at each of them, and they all looked so eager. They wanted me, needed me to join them.

"Alright," I said at last. "I'll be lookout."

The others cheered. Jack even patted me on the back. So why did I still feel guilty?

"Thank you, Kai."

"You won't regret it!"

I certainly hoped so.

* * *

The mall was surprisingly crowded and well kept considering it was going out of business. It was a mix of shiny, modern walls with large open spaces and small traditional shops that looked like wooden shrines filled with hidden treasures. I wondered why I'd never come here before. I guess because Nya and I didn't really like shopping, and anything we needed we could get online.

"Over there," Gene said, pointing to a more modern store with a huge crowd around it. The Borg Store. I swallowed. It wasn't that far away. Soon, we'd be _stealing_ a Borg Watch. But I wasn't the one actually stealing, so it'd be fine. My stomach churned and my heart pounded. It'll be fine, I repeated to myself.

"Ready?" Gene asked as we neared the store. I swallowed. I don't think I'll ever be ready.

"Hey," Brad said. "It'll be alright."

"We can do this," Jack added. It almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well as me. That didn't make me feel any better.

"Stick to the plan and everything will be fine," Gene assured us. "Give us five minutes to get the watches and then get out. We'll give you yours after we leave the mall."

I nodded. Okay. We were doing this. This was actually happening. I walked into the store ahead of the others, and started glancing at the displays like a regular customer.

"L-look at this!"

I turned and there was one of Nya's friends—Jay maybe? He was pointing out a Borg VR set to his friend—couldn't tell if he was another one of Nya's or not because of the green hoodie over his face.

"It's like being transported to another world. I-it even comes with infrared sensors that can track your hand movements!" He seemed so excited, his hands waving in the air and his eyes sparkling. It almost made me want to smile.

"I was thinking about making one—n-not as good as this one— but I've got a lot of the parts in the junkyard and I thought, maybe…" he tugged on his orange scarf.

"That sounds great," his friend said. "Maybe I could join you."

Jay? grinned.

Something moved in the corner of my eye and I glanced toward the door. The guys were here and Gene was giving me the evil eye. I swallowed, suddenly remembering why I was here.

Most of the clerks were near the checkout at the back of the store. There was only one lady walking around answering people's questions. I just had to talk to her, ask a few questions, and then get out.

"Uh, ma'am?" I asked.

"Yes?" she asked, walking up to me. "Do you need something?"

I tried not to glance at the guys. Wouldn't want to give them away. "Y-yeah. I do. Um."

I'm so bad at this. Why did I agree to be lookout/distraction in the first place?

"I was just wondering…" I glanced around and found myself staring at the Borg watch poster. "What all does a Borg Watch do? I mean, I've seen the commercials, but why not get a phone?"

The lady smiled. "I'm glad you asked. The Borg Watch actually links to your phone, allowing you to view your messages, alerts, and reminders right on your wrist, saving you valuable time. In addition, the Borg Watch automatically comes with the latest Garmadon Alert app, keeping you safe and comfortable. And, it even comes with a temporal scanner."

"Temporal scanner?"

She smiled, nodding her head enthusiastically. She had no idea I was helping steal a bunch of watches from her store. "Yes. One of the latest breakthroughs in Borg Technology…"

I zoned out and glanced over at the Borg Watch display. The guys were gone, so I'm guessing they got the watches and hopefully are on their way to the exit.

"...I can show you, if you like," she said.

I jerked my head back. "Uh, no-no thank you. I, um—"

She frowned and I tried to think of something to distract her. I couldn't let her notice the watches were missing. Why did I ask about Borg Watches? That was the worst idea ever in the entire history of shoplifting.

"I don't have any money on me. I was just browsing, looking for a gift. My dad, he loves this stuff." Which wasn't a total lie. Dad's birthday was coming up and he used to build tech with Nya and I. Back when he had more time off work.

The lady nodded, but she didn't look happy. "I see. Thank you for your time, and I hope you'll come back soon."

"Yeah. I'll do that." I smiled and tried to look casual, but as soon as her back was turned, I all but bolted out of the store. That was the worst five minutes of my life.

I burst out of the mall and saw the others were already waiting for me.

"Did anyone notice?" Gene asked.

"N-no."

The others just stared at me. "Pretty sure," I added. They shifted nervously. I glanced through the glass doors to the mall. Everything looked normal. "Yeah. We should be fine."

Gene frowned. "I hope so."

"What if we get caught?" Jack stuttered. "What happens then?"

"Nothing. We're going to be fine," Gene snapped. "Come on. Let's go."

The mall doors slid open. "Stop!" Someone yelled.

I turned and my heart stopped. It was Jay and his friend in the green hoodie. They'd seen us. We were caught.

Jack looked like he was going to bolt. "What do we do?" he whispered.

"Stay calm," Gene said. "Keep walking. Pretend it's not us."

"But they saw us," Brad hissed. "They were in the store. They know."

Gene growled. "Walk faster then!"

We sped up, almost breaking into a jog, but it was too late. Jay and his friend sped up, running to cut us off. We tried to sprint away, but he jumped in front of us, hood falling off as he did.

I gasped. "Lloyd?"

He glanced at me, recognition flaring in his eyes. Jay caught up with us and when he saw me, he looked horrified. I wished I was anywhere but here. Why had I ever agreed to this?

Gene smirked. "Well, this is ironic, isn't? Evil Lloyd Garmadon trying to stop _us_."

"H-he's not evil!" Jay insisted from behind Lloyd, almost like he was hiding.

Gene sent him a glare and Jay gulped. Lloyd stood his ground. If he wasn't careful, this go real bad, real fast.

"You think the police are going to side with you, son of the warlord who makes their life miserable?" Travis sneered.

Lloyd clenched his fists. "They'll see the truth."

"Everyone hates you," Jack said. "All we have to do is say that you're the one who stole the watches and that you framed us, and they'll take our side."

Lloyd didn't move, but his frown, the way his eyes shimmered: he knew they were telling the truth, and there was nothing he could do about it. My stomach twisted. But this wasn't Lloyd's fault. Why should he get blamed if he didn't do anything wrong?

"I-I'll t-tell them what really happened," Jay stuttered.

Travis stood up to his full height, looming over the shorter boy. "Oh really?"

"Y-yeah. S-so leave Lloyd alone!"

Travis took a step closer and Jay shuddered. Lloyd quickly shielded his friend and Jay cowered behind him.

Brad laughed. "Like you can stop us. You can't even face us with hiding behind a Garmadon."

Jay tried to step out from behind Lloyd, but now it was obvious Jay was shaking. Really badly. He tried to hide it by squeezing his scarf and taking deep breaths, but his knees shook. Jay was terrified. "I-I'll s-still defend him! Y-you c-can't stop me!"

"Like they'll even understand you with that stutter of yours," Jack jeered. Jay flinched and stared at the ground, but he still didn't back down.

"Nice," Travis whispered and I stared blankly at him. No. This was anything but nice.

Gene marched toward Lloyd, a sick grin on his face. "There's nothing you can do. We win."

Lloyd looked over at me and I swallowed. Please don't bring me into this. Please don't—

"You know this is wrong," he said. "They'll believe you."

Brad laughed. "Like Kai'll ever tell." I stared at the sidewalk. These guys had been my friends for years… but what kind of friends mock and blame innocent people while acting like it's fun?

"Right, Kai?" Brad added slowly. I didn't answer. I could almost hear a threat in his voice. If I choose the wrong answer, they'll turn on me too. That definitely wasn't friendship. We stole the watches. This was our fault. Lloyd and Jay were innocent.

"No."

Gene snapped his head and glared at me. "What do you mean no?"

"I mean no," I said firmly. I wasn't going to let them push me around. Not this time. "I'm not going to lie to the police."

Lloyd smiled.

"But, don't you care about what happens to us? You don't want to go to prison, do you?" Jack asked.

"No, but you guys are acting like bullies, when we were the ones who stole the watches. Lloyd and Jay didn't do anything to us!"

Travis snorted. "You miss the part where they called the police? Not to mention we're talking about _the_ Lloyd Garmadon? Son of Lord Garmadon?"

I shook my head. "If he's so evil, why hasn't he beaten us up? Or better yet, why call the police in the first place?"

"So? He's a Garmadon," Gene spat, like the name was a curse. "Are you really going to take his side over us? Your friends?"

I swallowed and Lloyd sent me a nervous glance. But I wasn't going to let them guilt me into backing down. "No, you're not my friends. You never were."

The others gaped. Even Lloyd and Jay looked surprised.

"What are you saying?" Jack exclaimed. "Of course, we are!"

"Well, for starters, you hang out without me and I hardly see you outside of school. We don't know each other. Not really. And, most importantly, you keep pushing me into things I don't want to do. Real friends don't do that."

"Fine," Gene said at last. "If you want to take their side, then you can take the fall for them."

Gene stepped forward and shoved the bag of Borg Watches into my arms. Sirens blared and I gaped, my mind frozen. They were going to frame me. I was going to jail, and there was nothing I could do about it.

The police pulled on the street next to us, lights flashing and I realized Lloyd was still in trouble. "Get out of here," I whispered. Lloyd frowned.

"But—"

"You'll be safer if they don't know who you are."

"H-he's right, Lloyd," Jay added.

Lloyd frowned. He knew I was right, but he still didn't budge. Instead, he tugged his hood back up, covering his tell-tale green eyes. "I'm not leaving you two alone."

I almost smiled. I couldn't believe he was defending me after everything that happened. But still. Everyone in the city hated Lloyd. It wasn't safe for him here. And I wasn't going to let him get in trouble for something he didn't do. "Thanks, really, but you have to go. You look too shady with that hood on. They'll get suspicious and—"

Car doors slamming cut me off and then it was too late. They saw us.

"Hand over the watches, hands where I can see them! Rest of you, don't move."

"We'll figure something out," Lloyd said and Jay nodded beside him. I felt a little better, but my heart was still pounding like crazy. I was going to be arrested, and there was nothing Jay or Lloyd could do about it.

The police marched up to us and I slowly handed the watches over. The man whistled. "Geez, kid. That's over five thousand dollars worth of merchandise."

"Keep it professional, Simon," the other officer scolded.

"Sorry, Tommy. Just been awhile since I've seen a theft like this."

Tommy just rolled his eyes. "Alright, who made the call?"

"We did," Gene said. "We saw these three stealing watches and stopped them before they could away.

"T-that's not true!" Jay stuttered. "L-loyd called you! They're the theives!"

"Lloyd?" Simon asked, turning towards us. Lloyd tried to duck his head without looking too suspicious. Jay immediately winced. "As in _the_ Lloyd Garmadon?"

"That's not important," Tommy interrupted. "Lying to the police is a serious offense, so tell me the truth. Who actually called and stole the watches?"

Jack threw a nervous look at Gene, but Gene didn't budge.

"Just tell us what happened and we can all go home," Simon said.

"Gene, Travis, Brad, Jack and I stole the watches," I admitted. The officers glanced at me sharply, and Gene shot me a murderous look.

"Is this true?" Simon asked.

Jay and Lloyd nodded, though they shot me sympathetic glances.

"Alright then, you five are under arrest," Tommy said, gesturing to me and my former friends. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in court. Now come on."

Gene shot me a murder glare and shoved me as he made his way to the car. Even Jack was shooting daggers at me. This was going to be a long couple of days until the trial.

* * *

Fortunately, the police kept us mostly separate. I stayed in a holding cell pretty much the entire time until the trial. The judge found us guilty and now I was back here, since Ninjago didn't have an official 'jail', only a heavy duty prison for the shark generals who got captured.

I went back to my 'cell' and lay down on my cot. I sighed. I mean, as far as prisons went, it could've been a lot worse. There was a toilet and sink, a cot with a pillow, and one of the officers even left me a magazine. But still. It was lonely.

Some rapped on the door, jerking me out of thoughts. "You have some visitors," A gruff voice said, Tommy maybe.

I sat up. Who could it be? Mom and Dad would still be at work, Nya… maybe, but he said visitor_s_. Who else would want to see me?

"You decent, kid?"

"Y-yeah. Come in."

The door opened, revealing Nya and the rest of her friends. I gaped. What were they doing here?

"Hello," Nya said. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, you know," I said, staring at her friends, trying to figure out what they were doing here. "As well as I can in prison."

"Technically, this is a temporary holding cell," Zack, no—Zane corrected.

"It's a joke," I said. "What are guys doing here?"

"We felt bad just leaving you after you got arrested," Lloyd explained. "So I asked Nya if we could come visit."

"And I thought it was a great idea," she added.

I blinked slowly. "You… felt bad? Why? It was my fault for stealing."

"Y-you s-stood up to your friends," Jay said. "That was really brave."

I shook my head. "They weren't really my friends."

They didn't know what to say to that. I stared at the floor.

After a moment, Lloyd broke the silence. "Still, admitting that you stole the watches took a lot of courage."

I shrugged. Hadn't really thought of it that way. "I guess."

Another pause. "So, how long will you be here?" Lloyd asked.

"Only a week," I said. "After that I'll come back on the weekends to carry out the rest of my sentence. Why?"

"We were going to hang out at my place again." Cole said.

"W-we were wondering if you would l-like to come," Jay added, tugging on his scarf.

I blinked. "Really? You guys… want me to come?"

"Of course," Zane said. "As the human expression goes: the more the merrier." Cole nodded, and Jay offered me a nervous smile.

I glanced at Nya and she smirked. "You know I want you to come."

This all seemed too good to be true.

"If you don't want to, I understand," Lloyd said. "There's no pressure, or anything—"

"No, yeah, of course I want to come!" I quickly interrupted and Lloyd smiled. "So, when is it?"

We decided on Saturday afternoon, after I was released. We talked for a little bit longer, but then it was time for the others to go. The door closed and I was left alone. But this time, I couldn't help it. I grinned. I had something to look forward to.

* * *

**AN: So... what'd you think? I'm a bit nervous for this chapter, but hopefully it was still as enjoyable as the others. ****I want to thank all you of you wonderful readers for your continued support of this story. It really means a lot and encourages me to keep going. The next update might take awhile, as I'm going back to my wizard fic for a bit, but I do plan on continuing this story until the ninja's first mission against Garmadon.**

**Next up will be a Lloyd chapter and hopefully some fluff to get away from all the drama!**


	8. Lloyd

**AN: Guys, I'm so sorry. This took way longer than I thought it would. But real life got in my way. Now that I'm on Thanksgiving break though, maybe I'll have more time to write. Hopefully. I'm starting to get sick, and I also want to work some more on my Harry Potter crossover so we'll see. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it. It's mostly fluff with some friend bonding.**

* * *

Lloyd:

I hummed as I walked into Uncle Wu's warehouse. He was playing "You're the Best" from Karate Kid on his flute and I smiled. Some things would never change. I waited for him to finish and he glanced up at me.

"You seem to be in a good mood, nephew," he observed.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I am."

Yesterday, I'd gone over to Cole's house and we had a blast. I'd never had a sleepover before. I'd never had friends to have a sleepover with either, but it felt good to have friends. People I didn't have to worry about beating me up or calling me names, or otherwise making my life miserable. I felt better than I had in years, like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

"I'm glad," Wu said, snapping me back to the present. "I know life has been very hard for you, but you deserve happiness."

Uncle Wu and Mom both wanted me to be happy and just 'be myself' for as long as I could remember. It hadn't really worked, but I still appreciated the thought. "Thanks," I mumbled.

"Have you considered my suggestion?"

I frowned. Wu had been trying to gather a Secret Ninja Force to help fight against Garmadon, since he was getting 'too old' for single handedly saving all Ninjago. So far, I was the only one who had actually joined, everyone else being unwilling or not up to Uncle's standards. So, he'd asked me to try and find people who'd be willing to become ninja and fight Garmadon.

"I don't know," I said quietly, not able to meet my uncle's gaze.

Wu nodded. He kept his face neutral, but I could feel his disappointment. During the last battle, he'd twisted his ankle and nearly dislocated his shoulder. His injuries were getting worse and worse, and I knew he couldn't fight off Garmadon's armies forever, but I couldn't think of anyone who'd actually want to fight alongside me.

"Let's begin, then," Wu said.

I shifted into a fighting stance and got ready for another long practice.

Three hours later…

I lay panting on the floor, covered in sweat and utterly exhausted after sparring (and mostly losing) against Uncle Wu. Soon, I'd need to take a shower, but right now everything hurts and the floor was much more comfortable. Sometimes I wondered why I'd agreed to learn Spinjitzu in the first place. It felt like another form of torture.

"I wish I'd taken up Zane's offer to study instead," I muttered to myself. He'd offered a group study session in the library as a group bonding activity, while also getting ready for the Biology test. I (foolishly) told him I was busy and couldn't make it.

"Zane?" Uncle Wu questioned.

I jerked, immediately flaring up all my sore muscles. I really wish Uncle Wu would warn me before popping up out of nowhere.

"Yeah," I said. Wu raised an eyebrow, so I added, "He's a friend of mine."

His eyes actually widened at that, but a small smile touched his lips. "Really?" he asked.

I nodded. "Zane, Jay, Nya, Cole, and Kai are all my friends. We've been hanging out for awhile now." That felt so good to say.

Wu hummed. "I see. Have you asked them about joining the Secret Ninja Force?"

"Um, no. Didn't really think about it." It was hard to imagine fighting and training alongside my friends, but I also couldn't think of anyone else who would even consider it.

"Perhaps you should," Wu suggested. "If they're interesting, then we can give them a test."

"A test?" I exclaimed. These were my first friends I'd ever had. Period. Asking them to fight was one thing, but throwing them into one of Uncle's mysterious tests—

"Fear not, nephew. It would be nothing dangerous. Only enough to be sure they're worthy. As your friends, I'm sure they will pass with no problems."

Uncle Wu looked and sounded calm, but somehow it only made me more worried. What if they didn't pass? What if they weren't worthy?

Then Wu wrinkled his nose. "Now go take a shower," he said.

I groaned as I forced myself back to my feet. "I'm going," I grumbled. I didn't smell that bad did I? I took a sniff and nearly coughed at the stench of sweat and grime. Okay, maybe I did.

"And don't forget to read my book!" Wu called after me. I shook my head and chuckled.

—

When I woke up, I was stiff and achy all over. I groaned and almost rolled over and went back to sleep, (since it _was_ Saturday) when my phone buzzed.

_Zane: Would you like to engage in a social activity?_

I rubbed my eyes, both to wake myself up and make sure I was reading this right. We'd all exchanged numbers, but I hadn't actually expected them to text, especially so soon.

_Zane: I am asking the others as well._

I guess this was happening. I sat up and sent out a reply.

_Me: Why don't you create a group chat_

_Zane: Excellent idea._

A few minutes later I got a message saying Cole, Nya, Jay, and Kai had been added to the group chat.

_Kai: I wouldn't mind. It'd have to be after my hours, though. _

_Zane: Of course._

_Nya: So where did you want to meet?_

_Jay: It doesn't matter_

_Cole: My dad's got the troupe over so not my house_

The group chat fell silent for a moment. Cole's house had kinda become our home base and it was hard to picture meeting somewhere else. I wouldn't mind hosting, but my apartment was barely big enough for my mom and I. Maybe we could go somewhere else though. Not the park, I had to many bad memories of kids beating me up there, restaurants were almost as bad, unless they had a drive-thru… but there was one place my mom used to take me that wasn't so bad.

_Me: Why don't we get ice cream? There's a place not to far from my apartment, and then we can go up on the roof afterwards. It has a great view._

I bit my lip and waited for a response. What if they didn't like it? Where would we go then? I wouldn't want to ask my friends to host, that'd be rude, especially after everything they've done for me. What if we couldn't go anywhere? And it'd be all my fault because I was the son of Lord Garmadon and I contaminated them just by being around them and—

_Cole: Sounds good._

_Zane: Ice is nice._

_Nya: What's the place called?_

I grinned. I guess I was worried for nothing.

_Me: Cherry on Top_

_Me: The one in East Ninjago in the old mall_

_Kai: Thanks bro. Meet you at 1:30_

The others agreed. I smiled and put my phone down. I was lucky to have such good friends.

—

I walked up to the mall entrance closest to the ice cream shop, head down and hood up so hopefully no one would recognize me. I glanced out of the corner of my eye, looking for the others. I glanced at my watch. It was a little past 1:30, but I didn't expect them to get over right away.

"Hello, fellow teenager!" A flat, yet strangely cheerful voice called behind me. I turned as Zane slid from out of nowhere.

I blinked. Still wasn't used to that. "Hey, Zane," I said, waving my hand awkwardly.

"Are you ready for some, ice, ice, baby?" he asked.

"Uh, shouldn't we wait for the others?" I replied hesitantly, not quite sure how to respond to Zane's sense of humor.

Zane nodded. "Of course."

I glanced down the street to see if any of the others were coming. Sadly, I couldn't see them anywhere.

"Are you ready for the Biology test?" Zane asked.

"Yeah, I think so," I said. "How 'bout you?"

"I am adequately prepared. The exam should be easy."

I glanced at him. "Easy? I can't understand what the teacher's saying half the time." Didn't help that the teacher had a vendetta against me because Garmadon's my father either.

Zane froze, almost nervously. "I too, have a hard time understanding the teacher. School is very challenging, isn't it?"

I frowned. "Zane, it's okay to be smart. You don't have to pretend school's hard. I'm not going to judge you."

Immediately, Zane began to relax, and his blue eyes glowed brighter than usual. "Really?" he asked.

"Yeah, really," I said. "I know what it's like to be judged, and I wouldn't do that to anyone else. Besides, we're friends, and friends don't do that to each other."

Zane beamed and then threw his arms around me, squeezing so hard that I couldn't breathe.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," I choked.

Zane let go and I gasped, almost coughing at the sudden rush of air. I rubbed my back and wondered why on Ninjago did he hug so hard. It was sweet, but painful.

"Are you all right?" Zane asked.

I nodded, still catching my breath. "Yeah. No worries."

I smiled and his eyes brightened. Behind him, I spotted Jay squeezing his bright orange scarf, glancing nervously from side to side. I waved him over and he shuffled over to us.

"H-hey," he stuttered.

"Hey."

"Hello."

"S-so, is a-anyone else here yet?" Jay asked hopefully. "L-like Kai, or-or Nya or Cole?"

I shook my head. Jay had it _bad._ "Not yet."

Jay drooped, wringing his scarf nervously. "Oh."

"I'm sure they'll be here soon, though," I added.

"Y-yeah, I-I know," he said.

Silence.

"Are you ready for the Biology test?" Zane asked, trying to break the ice.

"I-I think so. I haven't really had that much time to study though, with the junkyard and all," Jay said.

"How's that going?" I asked. At Jay's blank look, I added, "The junkyard."

"O-oh, it's going fine," Jay stammered, staring down at his scarf. "S-someone asked us to rebuild their car lot, so I've repairing a lot of cars. Fixing the engines, putting on tires, stuff like that."

"That's cool," I said.

"It is most impressive to rebuild an entire car lot by hand," Zane agreed.

Jay shook his head quickly. "N-not by hand. That would take forever. I-I actually master build it."

"Master Build?" Zane repeated.

"Yeah. It's where you just see the pieces and what they can be and then you just make them," I explained.

Zane's brow furrowed. "This does not compute. You see… pieces? And they form… things?"

"Yeah, that's how I always did it," I said, glancing at Jay, who just fidgeted nervously.

"I-I think about what I want to make and work backwards," he admitted.

I blinked. Master Wu taught me the art of Master Building was seeing what the pieces could be, finding their potential, and then fitting them together into something beautiful. A lot of my early training involved taking random parts and making them into something useful. Even now, I usually don't know what I'm making until I see the pieces in front of me.

"Really?" I asked.

Jay nodded. "L-like with the j-jeep. I know I want to build a jeep, and I-I can see the jeep in my mind and then I can find what pieces will make it."

Zane nodded. "I see. That sounds quite useful. Perhaps you can teach me?" He glanced between the two of us hopefully.

"Sure," I said. "We'd be happy to." Jay nodded and Zane beamed.

Faint rock music played in my ears and I glanced over at Cole, who walked up without comment and leaned casually on Zane's shoulder. He seemed to do that a lot.

"Hey, Cole," I greeted. He just nodded. He didn't talk a whole lot either, especially when he was listening to music. I didn't mind though. The fact that he hung out with us—with me—at all was good enough. We waited for a few minutes, Zane filling in the silence with small talk, watching people pass by on the sidewalk. A few glanced our way and I pulled my hood lower.

Then we spotted Nya and Kai riding on a motorcycle over toward us.

"Hey, bro, " Nya said, flashing me a grin. I grinned back. She'd started calling me her little brother after a few days and it was starting to grow on me.

"Sorry, we're late," she said.

"Yeah," Kai said, not meeting our gaze as he slid off the motorcycle. "It took longer to get out than I thought."

"That's alright," I replied.

"Y-yeah, you're here now, r-right?" Jay asked, giving them (mostly Nya) a shaky smile. It seemed to make Kai feel a little better though.

"Yeah," he said. "Let's go get some ice cream."

I hung out at the back of our group to try and avoid being recognized by the shop owner. Some people wouldn't sell things to me if they knew I was the son of Lord Garmadon. I stared at the floor and shuffled forward, looking forward to getting out of here and on the roof.

The others placed their orders and I got through mine without the man saying anything. So far so good. Then we got to the cashier.

"Huh," Nya said, digging deeper into her pocket. "I was sure—"

"I-I've got it," Jay said.

Nya blinked. "Really? You don't have to. I'm sure my wallet's somewhere…"

"It's okay," Jay stammered quickly. "I-I don't mind." He thumbed through some bills while the cashier tapped his fingers impatiently.

"Um." Jay glanced up at the cashier nervously. "How much was it again?"

Cole rolled his eyes, a hint of an amused smile on his face, while Kai groaned. "You guys are hopeless," he complained.

"Will someone just pay for the ice cream?" the cashier snapped. I winced. I didn't want to draw attention to myself, but it'd probably be better if I paid before he kicked us out of the store. I think I had enough…

"Will this be satisfactory?" Zane asked, placing a one hundred dollar bill on the counter.

The cashier's eyes widened. "Ye-yeah. That'll be plenty," he said. While he rung up change, the rest of us stared at Zane in shock.

"What is it?" he asked.

"H-how d-did you get so much money?" Jay stammered.

Zane frowned. "My father gave it to me. Why?"

Kai's jaw dropped. "How rich is your dad?"

Zane tilted his head, his eyes glazing over for a moment. Then he straightened. "My father has made 52,430,975 dollars off of his inventions."

We all gaped, even Cole looked impressed. "That's insane," Nya said.

"It is merely a result of my father's life work," Zane said.

"Here you go," the cashier said, handing Zane his change. "Have a great day."

We left the shop and I led the way to the side of the building to the Garmadon escape stairs. Every building over two stories tall had one, just in case. I could have scaled the side of the building by myself, but I didn't want to force my friends to do the same. Especially since they didn't have years of Spinjitzu training to fall back on.

"I-is this s-safe?" Jay stammered.

"My mom and I used to do this all the time when I was little," I reassured him. "Trust me, it's worth it."

Jay tugged on his scarf with his free hand, but he followed us up the stairs to the roof. It took awhile, since the mall had been built like a small skyscraper, but when we got there, seeing the look on my friends' faces was worth it.

"Woah," Jay gasped. I grinned. You could see most of Ninjago from up here, from the older, more traditional districts, to the higher, bright skyscrapers. The sky tram ran right nearby, and when it passed, you could feel it rumbling in your feet. All the people and cars looked like dots down below. In the distance, you could make out a small, glimmering stretch of the ocean.

"Yeah, it looks even cooler in the evening though. You get a great view of the sunsets and all the neon lights turn on," I said.

"Still pretty cool, bro," Nya replied, looking down off the edge of the building.

"You used to come here when you were little?" Kai asked, joining his sister.

"Yeah, Mom and I weren't really welcome in the mall, so we'd come up here." I gestured to the roof. "No people, great view, it was perfect. But Mom's been at work a lot lately, trying to support both of us, so I haven't come here in awhile." I sighed. "I haven't gone anywhere really, not until I met you guys."

"I'm sorry, Lloyd," Kai said at last.

Nya stepped back from the edge and pulled me in a side hug, one arm occupied with ice cream. "We're here for you now, bro."

"Y-yeah," Jay said, edging closer.

Cole nodded.

"It is what friends do," Zane added. I grinned, and I felt like a little bit of the pain and the loneliness of the past few years began to loosen.

"Thanks guys," I said. I stayed in Nya's embrace, until I felt cold drops of ice cream hit my skin. I cleared my throat. "Maybe we should eat our ice cream now, before it melts."

The others agreed and we sat on the ledge, enjoying the view, and the ice cream, but most importantly, each other's company.

* * *

**AN: So... what'd you guys think? I've got a basic outline for the next chapter from Zane's POV, entitled Secrets. :) But after that, I'm not entirely sure what I want to do. I certainly want to lead up to them joining the ninja force and training and end the story off with their first successful fight against Garmadon. If anyone has an ideas for fun/fluff in between, feel free to let me know. I may not use it, but it might help inspire me. Thank you all for sticking with this story. Hope you all have a great day!**


	9. Zane: Secrets

**AN: Sorry y'all! I had the base of this chapter sitting around for awhile, but then I went on vacation, and finals hit, and I started second semester classes, and then I helped Carrie2sky with her story Summoning Gone Wrong. You guys should totally check it out. We had a lot of fun writing it. But now, I finally have a bit of free time and was able to finish this chapter up. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

Zane: Secrets

I grinned. Despite the numerous forms of media declaring otherwise, school was actually enjoyable. Especially now that I had friends to share it with. I waved goodbye to Lloyd and Cole as they boarded the bus. I entered father's car and closed the door behind me.

"How was your day today, Zane?" he asked.

"Excellent," I replied. "Lloyd and I grew the most bacteria in our biology lab."

"I take it you did well then," Father said as he pulled out of school parking lot.

My eyes dimmed slightly. "No. Mrs. Wolf marked points off for cheating."

"But you didn't, did you?"

"Of course not. But she has an unfair bias against Lloyd because of his father," I said sadly. That was the one negative of school. Lloyd was constantly being bullied and picked on just because of his parentage, despite all the data that proved he was nothing like Lord Garmadon.

Father hummed sadly. "Is there anything you can do about it?"

I shook my head. "The whole school seems to have a grudge against Lloyd. However, we managed to complete the extra credit assignment, which allowed us to regain some of our points back. My grades will not be affected."

"I'm not worried, Zane," Father reassured me. "It's just one class, and besides, it's not your fault. We can't control what other people think of us."

I thought of my own situation and how quick others were to judge me back then. "No," I echoed.

We fell into silence until we reached home. I stepped inside the house, and was immediately wrapped in a tight embrace. I grinned and lifted my little brother up into my arms.

"Hello, Echo," I greeted. My father had created my little brother a few years ago, wanting to expand our little family. He almost hadn't gone through with it after what had happened to me, but I convinced him it was a good idea. And I'm glad he did. I love my little brother.

"Zane!" he cried. I smiled.

"How was school today?" I asked. After I adapted to high school, my father decided to enroll Echo into the local elementary school, after making him a holographic cloak to hide his metallic, bronze colored skin and body. He stood out, as he hadn't quite mastered the art of pretending to be human, but the other students didn't seem to mind. Thankfully.

"Good!" he said, squirming to get more comfortable in my arms. "We learned numbers today!"

"Really?" I asked, walking inside the house.

"Yeah," Echo replied. "It was easy, though, since you and Dad already taught me."

I chuckled. Having a nindroid processor put Echo several years ahead of the other students, but he insisted on going to school with other kids his age. "I hope you were still good."

"Of course!" Echo said indignantly, as if the very notion offended him. "I'm always good! Just like you told me."

"I am glad," I said. I carried him into the living room and the lights automatically turned on, courtesy of Mom. She was the first AI system Father successfully built, and although she did not have a physical body, she was as much a part of the family as the rest of us.

"Welcome home, boys," she whirred in binary. "How was your day?"

"Good," I replied, as I set my little brother down, much to his disappointment. Although he brightened and ran up to Father as he joined us in the living room.

"Will you pick me up, Daddy?" Echo asked. Father frowned slightly, indecision clear on his face. We were trying to teach Echo boundaries, and giving in to his every whim would only encourage his behavior.

"Please?" Echo added.

"Alright, Echo, but only for a little while," Father finally relented. Echo grinned and practically jumped into Father's arms.

"Honey, you're spoiling him," Mom scolded, but Father just shook his head.

"No, I'm not," he replied. "Right, Echo?" he asked, slowly lifting my little brother up and leaning him against his chest.

"Nope," Echo replied, smiling at getting his way.

Mom made a whirring that was her equivalent of a sigh. She'd probably scold Father more later, but even she was often subject to Echo's charms, and right now, she couldn't deny Echo looked adorable in Father's arms.

"Oof," he said, shifting Echo to his other shoulder. "You're getting heavy."

"No, I'm not!" Echo protested, not wanting to be put down again. "Nindroids don't grow!"

Father laughed. "Maybe I'm just getting old, then."

Echo frowned. "You're not old, Daddy."

"Thank you for saying so, but I'm not as young as I used to be," he replied sadly. Grey was beginning to pepper Father's brown hair and I could make out some wrinkles on his face, but he was aging appropariatetly for a 45 year old. However, I knew that one day, both Echo and I would outlive Father.

"But you're not old," Echo insisted. His innocence lightened the mood considerably and I smiled just watching him.

"Old is a bit of an exaggeration," Father relented and he slowly made his way over to the couch, where he set Echo down. Echo pouted, but cheered up when Father let him sit on his lap.

"How was your day, honey?" Mom asked.

"Alright," Father answered. "I finished the basic design of the defense mech, but I'm struggling with the new power source for the engine. I'm hoping that taking a break and looking at it with a fresh set of eyes tomorrow will help."

"Can't you just make another power source like ours?" Echo asked.

Father sighed. "Sadly, the materials to make your power source are very rare, and I used the last of them to make you," he said, poking Echo on the nose, which made him giggle. "Which I'm very glad I did. I'll just have to find another way to make a renewable energy source."

"You can do it, Daddy!" Echo said confidently.

"Perhaps I can help," I suggested. "Jay has been showing me how to Master Build, and we have built several different engines together." We had been building car engines Jay was repairing for his parents' junkyard, but should be similar to the mech engines Father was trying to build that I could at least be of some assistance.

Father nodded. "Maybe after I eat dinner," he said.

"What are you making, Daddy?" Echo asked. As nindroids, we did not need to eat, but Father had installed taste buds and a digestive system so we could enjoy meals if we chose.

"I was thinking of something simple. Probably a sandwich, unless your brother wants to make something," Father answered, glancing over at me in a silent question.

Father was a genius, but he was not the best cook in Ninjago, to put it nicely. So I taught myself to cook, and became good at it. At least Father and Echo seemed to think so.

"Please, Zane?" Echo begged.

"Of course. What would you like?" I asked.

Echo's eyes lit up. "Can you make those sushi rolls and dumplings again? Ooh! And pie for dessert!" Dad gave Echo a look and he added, "Please?"

"Coming right up," I replied, pushing myself off the couch.

"Thank you!" Echo called after me, and I smiled as I entered the kitchen.

Mom turned the kitchen lights on and gave me a read out of the ingredients in the kitchen. Fortunately, we had enough to make dinner.

"You don't have to cook every night, Zane," Mom said. "I can always heat up something for your father instead."

I shook my head. "I enjoy cooking," I replied in binary. "Besides, it feels good to do something nice for everyone."

Mom just hummed in response. I began filleting fish, frying the dumplings, and making the pie crust. Soon, with my nindroid multitasking capabilities, I had the sushi rolls completed, the dumplings almost done frying, and the pie was in the oven.

"Mom, can you set a timer for the pie?" I asked, as I carried the sushi out to the table.

"What do you say?" Mom prompted.

I rolled my eyes. Sometimes she got caught up on the smallest details. "Please?" I added.

"Of course," Mom said, with a cheerful buzz. I shook my head.

Echo and Father came to the table while I took the dumplings out of the fryer and put them on a serving plate. Echo immediately reached for one and popped it in his mouth.

"Echo," Mom scolded. "Not everyone's been served yet."

Echo swallowed and slumped in his seat. "Sorry."

"It is all right," I said. "The dumplings were made to be eaten."

Mom buzzed disapprovingly, but let it go since Echo didn't reach for anymore dumplings until there was some on everyone's plate. I enjoyed a few rolls and dumplings before pulling the pie out of the oven. We each enjoyed a slice before saving the rest.

"Thank you, Zane," Father said. "I'll enjoy eating these leftovers for lunch tomorrow."

"Thank you!" Echo chorused, his mouth still full of pie.

I smiled. "My pleasure."

"Would you like to look at the mech designs now?" Father asked.

I nodded, and followed Father to his lab. Immediately, I could see why Father was having trouble. The mech design, while powerful and strong enough to resist the worst of Garmadon's armies, required a lot of energy and burnt through it quite quickly.

I offered some suggestions, removing some extra systems from the mech to make it more fuel efficient, having multiple power sources instead of just one. Father nodded, but he was gazing off into space, instead of looking at the plans.

"Father?" I asked. "What do you think?"

His eyes came back into focus. "Oh yes, of course." He turned away from the blue prints completely and looked straight at me. "Zane, have you told your friends yet?"

I blinked at the unexpected question. Then, my insides froze as I realized what exactly Father was referring to. "Told them what?" I asked carefully.

"That you're a nindroid," Father replied.

I could almost feel my gears come to a halt. I stared down at the plans and began marking another modification to the mech's defense system.

"Zane?"

I did not answer. I did not want to. My processor was replaying the memory of being torn apart for being a nindroid over and over against my will. Finally, I forced the system to shut down, and I noticed that Father was still watching me.

"No," I murmured.

Father sighed. "I know I shouldn't nag you, and I know you promised me that you would, but... I worry about you."

"I know."

"Zane, from what you've told me of your friends, I'm sure they would accept you, no matter what," Father added.

I stayed silent. I wanted to believe my friends would not treat me any differently… but at the thought of telling them, all the horrible memories from that day flooded back and I panicked.

"Just think about it, okay?" Father asked.

—

The next day, Father's words replayed in my processor over and over again. It certainly did not help that Father gave me the look as he dropped me off at school today. I sighed. I wanted to tell them—no, I will tell them. I will. Once they get here.

I waited by the front doors, wondering the best possible way to go about this. Telling them out in the open where everyone could hear me was out, so I would have to speak to them in private. I ran through acceptable locations in my mind when I felt something on my shoulder.

I nearly turned away, before I realized it was only Cole. He seemed to enjoy leaning on me, perhaps as a sign of close friendship. Although, since I was made of metal, I doubted he was very comfortable. But it was his choice, and I did not mind.

In fact, the more I thought about, the more I realized Cole was one of my closest friends. He was there for me on the first day of high school and had stuck by me ever since. He had even let me have a sleepover at his house, and he never seemed to mind when I slipped up. It only seemed right for me to tell Cole first.

"Cole, may I talk to you?" I asked.

Cole pushed off my shoulder and slid off his headphones. "Sure," he said. "Shoot."

I frowned and glanced at all the people around us. "In private," I added.

Cole's raised his eyebrows slightly, before he shrugged. "Alright."

I led Cole to the courtyard that we came to for lunch. Fortunately, no one was here before school.

"So, what'd you want to talk about?" Cole asked after a moment.

I took a deep breath and forced the memories of being torn apart to the back of my processor. Some days I wished I could delete the memories all together. "As your friend, I want to be completely honest with you."

Cole's eyes widened slightly, but otherwise he kept his face passive.

"I am…" I paused, taking another deep breath. Why did Father program me with anxiety? "I am a nindroid."

Cole's whole body relaxed. "Oh. I already knew that."

"You knew?" I repeated. His reaction was… puzzling to say the least. "How did you...?"

Cole shrugged. "It was pretty obvious, but I figured you had a reason you didn't want to tell anyone, so I didn't pry."

"And you are not… bothered by my identity?" I asked hesitantly.

Cole frowned. "No. Robot—"

"Nindroid," I corrected automatically.

Cole just shrugged. "Whatever. Doesn't matter to me."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "You're still the same person, aren't you?"

"Yes," I said eagerly. This was going much more smoothly than I imagined. Perhaps this would not be so bad after all.

"So," Cole said, "the first bell will be ringing soon. You want to go back?"

"All right," I said.

However, by the time I rejoined the others, there was no time to tell them my secret as well. The bell rang, and we had to go to our respective first periods, but I resolved that I would tell them at lunch instead.

We all sat down, and I took a deep breath, when Lloyd beat me to it. Apparently, I was not the only one who needed to tell the group something.

"Guys, can I ask you something?" he said, looking a little nervous.

We all nodded and murmured our agreement, and Lloyd took a deep breath.

"Well," he began. "You see, I'm part of this Secret Ninja force with my uncle, and we need more people to join to fight—well, not really fight, we'd just be training so we can _eventually_ fight Garmadon, so I was wondering…"

"We'll be happy to join you," Nya said, and Lloyd blinked at her.

"You don't have to," he said quickly. "I don't want to force you guys into it."

"You're not," Nya said matter of factly. "We're your friends, Lloyd. We'll be happy to help you anyway we can, right guys?"

"Yep," Kai said.

"Absolutely," I agreed. Lloyd was a good friend and I would be happy to join him if he wanted. Besides, it was my purpose to protect those who could not protect themselves.

"We've got your back," Cole said simply.

"Yeah!" Jay said, then shrunk in on himself and tugged on his scarf nervously. "We'll just be training right?"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. No fighting Garmadon until we're ready." Jay breathed a sigh of relief.

"Although," Lloyd added, looking a little guilty. "My uncle did say something about a test."

Jay froze. "What kind of test?"

Lloyd shrugged. "I don't know. Something to prove your 'worthiness' whatever that means."

I frowned, and Jay looked even more nervous than before.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Lloyd assured him.

"Yeah," Kai added. "My dad taught me self defense stuff. I can teach you if you want."

"Taught _us_ self defense," Nya corrected.

Kai rolled his eyes and Nya punched him in the arm. Jay just tugged on his scarf again. "Thanks, but I don't think a few self defense lessons are going to make me a ninja."

Nya frowned. I too, wished there was something I could do to cheer up our friend. My father had taught me some Spinjitzu…

"I don't think my uncle expects us to be ninja right away, but he's taught me some Spinjitzu and I can teach you the basics," Lloyd added. "We can all have a group training session if you want."

We all agreed, but the bell rang before I could share my secret with the rest of the group. I supposed it could wait till the group training session after school. However we started right away, and there was no convenient time to bring it up.

After learning a few basic stances, we began to learn some basic blocks and punches. Unfortunately, during the infamous spin, Kai lost his balance and stumbled into Nya. She pushed him back he fell into Cole, who shoved him back playfully. Soon, a full scale wrestling match broke out with Lloyd and Jay joining in.

I watched them for a moment, trying to analyze the best response. I thought we were supposed to be training, but everyone seemed to be 'playing' instead. So I jumped in as well, trying to hold back as much force as I could. I think I put in too little force, however, because when Jay pushed me off, I lost my balance and tumbled backwards.

I threw my arm out in front of me, trying to break my fall. Unfortunately, I literally broke. My arm popped out of its socket from the force of the impact, sending wires sparking everywhere. Fortunately, I did not feel much pain.

Everyone stopped fighting. I froze, waiting for their response. My processor seemed to slow time, each second becoming an eternity.

Jay broke the silence first. "Oh my gosh! Zane! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to— I didn't know— are you hurt? Of course you are, you're arm's broken! What am I saying?"

"That's an electric arm right? We can reconnect it?" Nya asked.

"Zane, are you okay?" Lloyd asked, getting down on the ground next to me. Cole was already on my other side, a comforting arm on my remaining shoulder.

"Say something!" Kai demanded, although he looked more concerned than upset. I blinked. Everyone looked worried. For me. A nindroid.

"I am… unharmed," I said slowly. The others stared at me dubiously.

"Unharmed? You're whole arm just fell off!" Kai said.

"It looks worse than it is," I explained, glad to focus on a more logical explanation than my feelings at the moment. "My arm cleanly detached from my shoulder socket. It should take little trouble to reattach it. And you should know, I am a Nindroid, therefore I have a higher pain tolerance than most humans."

"Oh," Jay said at last.

"You're not upset?" I asked carefully.

"No. I mean, we figured something was up when your entire arm fell off, but as long as you're okay, it doesn't really matter," Nya said.

"Why would we be?" Lloyd asked.

"I… I am a robot. I thought… maybe you would not want to be my friend anymore," I said quietly.

Everyone exchanged glances before looking back at me. "Zane, we're still your friends. You being a nindroid doesn't change anything," Lloyd said.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Now let's get your arm back on," Nya said. She picked it up, looked at my shoulder socket and looked back at my arm. Finally, she looked at me hopelessly. "How does this go?"

We spent the rest of our 'training session' attempting to reattach my arm. While my father could have done a better job, all I could think of was how grateful I am to have such good friends.


	10. Jay: The Test

**AN: Hey guys! Long time no see. I'm sorry about that, but between school, COVID19 and getting ready for college... life's just been crazy lately and fanfiction just hasn't been that huge of a priority for me right now. I've had half this chapter done for a little while, and looking back at some of my old projects I decided to just finish it. Sorry if there's any errors, I just kind of wanted to post it at this point.**

**Thanks to everyone who's favorited and followed this story. I really appreciate it.**

* * *

Jay: The Test

* * *

We walked up to the warehouse and it hit me. I was going to have to take this test. And I wasn't ready.

_I'm going to fail! I'm going to fail this test for sure, and then I'll be left behind while everyone else becomes ninja and I'll lose the only friends I have and—_ My breaths came in shuddering gasps, my chest seized up and I couldn't breathe. Then, a strong hand began to make smooth circles in my back.

"Breathe, Jay," Cole said gently. "Breathe."

I took a huge gulp of air, and slowly began to breathe evenly again as the weight lifted off my chest. _Great. That's the second time I've had a panic attack today._

The first was when I woke up after having a nightmare of failing the test and then being crushed by Garmadon. Thinking about it made my heart pound in my chest. _Even if I do pass this test, I'll have to fight Lord Garmadon, the worst bad guy in the history of Ninjago._ I began shivering. _Maybe it'd be better if I wasn't a ninja. What if I had a panic attack in the middle of a battle and someone died because I froze up? _

"Jay, are you alright?" Lloyd asked, even as Cole kept rubbing circles in my back, bringing me back to reality.

"Y-yeah," I said, trying to pull off a smile. "I'm okay now. Thanks."

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," Lloyd said. Cole stopped circling, but left his hand on my back. Nya cast me a sympathetic glance, and I swallowed. _I can't back down now, besides I can't be the only one to _not _do this._

"No, no. I'm good."

Kai raised his eyebrows.

"Promise."

—

"Not good. Definitely not good!" I screamed.

I was prepared for a test. A demonstration of skills, a fight maybe, but _this?_ This was definitely _not_ a test.

It'd started fine. We met Lloyd's uncle, who looked like an ordinary old man, but then he suddenly grabbed Lloyd and took off out the back of the warehouse.

"Calm down, Jay!" Kai said. "We'll get him back!"

"How? This is the guy who fights _Garmadon_ for crying out loud! We don't stand a chance against him!" I argued.

Kai didn't say anything, but set his mouth in a grim line.

"We have to try," Nya said. "He's our friend, and we promised we wouldn't leave him!"

"I know, but—" _He couldn't have known he'd get kidnapped by his super power uncle when we made that promise. _Then I immediately felt bad. _Lloyd wouldn't leave us._

"I have been trained in Spinjitzu, and have many martial arts movies recorded in my processor. We will succeed," Zane said encouragely.

_It's going to take more than martial arts movies to get us out of this one._ But I swallowed and nodded.

"We have to go, before he gets too far," Cole said, bringing us back to the matter at hand.

We all nodded and took off out the back of the warehouse. Fortunately, the old man was just on top of the nearest building, Lloyd tossed over his shoulder, looking mostly unharmed. Unfortunately, he was _on top of a freaking building!_

"How are we going to get up there?" I asked, my voice almost breaking.

Zane grinned at me. "Climb, of course."

Of course. _But with my luck, I'm probably going to fall off the building! At least I'm not afraid of heights, though._ I swallowed and followed the others as they sprinted towards the Spinjitzu Master.

Cole and Zane started up the wall like Spiderman. Within seconds they were almost a third of the way up the building. I gaped. _I wish I could do that._

"Jay!" Nya called, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Come on!"

I glanced over and saw she and Kai had already started up the Garmadon Escape Stairs. I flushed and started sprinting up to join them. _Stupid Jay. Can't save Lloyd gaping on the ground._

Fortunately, Lloyd's uncle didn't go anywhere. He just watched us under the brim of his large hat, Lloyd hanging limp over his shoulder. I bit my lip. _I hope he's okay. He's not moving, but that doesn't mean he's dead, and I don't think his own uncle would kill him—would he?_

I re-examined the old man, hoping against hope the man who protected us from Ninjago wouldn't murder his own nephew.

"Why are you interfering?" he asked. With the hat covering his eyes and neutral tone, it was hard to tell what his intentions were. It was kinda unnerving.

"Why did you kidnap your own nephew?" Kai snapped back. I glanced from him to the old man, half expecting them to come to blows.

"He's the son of Garmadon."

As if that explained everything. And, it almost did. _I was afraid of him at first too, before I knew what he was really like. Maybe this is all a misunderstanding?_

"He's your nephew!" Nya shouted.

The man lifted his head to reveal his cold, black eyes, making him look even more frightening. "Yes, and the son of the most evil man who has ever lived."

"But Lloyd is not evil," Zane tried to explain. "In fact, all evidence—"

"As the defender of Ninjago, it is my duty to protect the people of this city," the old man interrupted, his gaze hardening. "And the people have spoken."

I swallowed. "What are you going to do with him?"

"What I have to," he said simply. Images ran through my mind. _Lloyd lying in an alleyway, bleeding, dying, his uncle standing over him, hat lowered over his eyes. People jeered at his broken body, happy that the son of their worst enemy was finally gone..._

"We won't let you!" Kai shouted, all but lunging forward toward the old man. Surprisingly, it was Cole who held him back. Nya looked like she wanted to join her brother, and I swallowed. A fight was going to break out soon.

"Hand Lloyd over," Cole said coolly. "Now."

The old man smirked. "And if I don't?"

"We'll beat you to a pulp!" Kai shouted.

The Spinjitzu Master's grin widened. "I'd like to see you try."

Kai broke free of Cole's grip, his fist drawn back, ready to punch the old man's face. He swung, but the old man stepped back and caught Kai's wrist. Kai tried to break free, but Lloyd's Uncle didn't flinch.

"You should stop now, before someone gets hurt," he commented, looking more amused than angry.

_For now. _I tugged my scarf, my body frozen, and hoped against hope that we could find some other way to rescue Lloyd.

"Then give Lloyd back!" Kai growled, trying to punch him in the face with his hand. But the old man just caught that one too.

This only made Kai more angry. "Why you—" he said as he threw all of his weight backwards. The old man simply let him go and Kai fell flat on his back.

"Leave my brother alone!" Nya shouted, leaping forward.

"Wait! Shouldn't we come up with a plan first?" I called, but she was already gone. Meanwhile, Kai was pushing himself back up and the two attacked the old man together.

Kai went in for another punch while Nya went in for a low kick. The Spinjitzu master stepped backwards, leaning away from Kai's punch and catching Nya's leg. Kai brought his other fist in, but the old man just threw Nya in his way. They both went tumbling to the ground.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no! We were going to lose, and Lloyd will be gone forever and—_

"You going to help them or what?" Cole asked me. I blinked over at him. Zane was already gone—off to fight with the others, I guess. Cole and I were the only one's left.

"O-of course I do! But he's a Spinjitzu Master, and I'm—not." I glanced back at the others, who were no closer to rescuing Lloyd than before. Zane managed to graze the old man's hat, and the three regrouped to attack him together, but the Spinjitzu master just spun in a tight circle, knocking them all back. I winced.

"I _want_ to save Lloyd. But I don't think I can do anything right now," I admitted softly.

Cole frowned. "Maybe we can't win this fight. But we can still save Lloyd."

"How?"

He nodded over to Lloyd, swinging helplessly from his uncle's shoulder. The old man was hardly holding onto him at all. If they could just get close enough… maybe they could grab Lloyd and run. It was a long shot though.

"But we can't even get close to him!" I protested. Kai lay groaning on the ground and Nya was standing off to the side holding her shoulder. Zane was the only one still going, and that was probably because he was a nindroid.

"Not like that," Cole agreed, and he started heading off to the edge of the building. It took me a moment, but then I realized what he was getting at. Maybe if we approached from behind, we could catch the old man by surprise. Still, there was nothing but flat concrete and I felt horribly exposed. _There's no way he can't see us. We're going to get caught. This is bad. This is so bad._

I glanced over as Zane threw another punch. The Spinjitzu master stepped back and countered with a punch of his own. Zane didn't even bother to block. He just extended his arm until it connected with his face. The old man grunted in surprise and I couldn't help give a silent cheer. _Yes! That's a nindroid for you!_

But he wasn't a Spinjitzu Master for nothing. The old man recovered quickly, grabbing Zane's arm and using it like a lever to launch the nindroid over his shoulder to crash behind him. I winced. That looked like it hurt.

Cole nudged my shoulder and I swallowed. _Right. Can't get distracted right now. Must. Save. Lloyd._

I deliberately did not watch as Kai, Zane, and Nya continued to try to get Lloyd back by force. But I couldn't help but hear each time they hit the concrete roof, every time they cried out. Instead, I kept my eyes on Lloyd. _It's okay. We'll be there soon. We just need to save Lloyd and get out._

Cole came from the right, and I snuck in from the left, right as Zane was about to attack from the front. Suddenly, Wu tossed Lloyd up in the air, giving him better use of both arms. He kicked Zane in the chest, turning in time to grab Cole's fists, before tossing him into Kai and Nya, who were just getting back up again.

Then the Spinjitzu Master caught Lloyd and settled back into a standing pose, using his free hand to tilt his hat back over his eyes. Everyone was down. Again. At least Zane was still stirring, but at this rate, we weren't going anywhere. _Stop it, Jay. You promised. You can do this. Somehow._

"I know you mean well," the old man spoke, interrupting my thoughts. "But this is for the best."

"No, it isn't!" I blurted. "And if you think Lloyd is evil, then you're not really the hero of Ninjago city."

"Oh?" He sounded more curious than anything else, much to my relief. "And what are you going to do about it?"

I swallowed. Just then, Lloyd began to stir. The Spinjitzu Master tilted his head to look at his nephew. Zane extended his arms right as I barreled into the old man. Lloyd went flying, but fortunately, the others were getting up in time to grab him.

"Lloyd!" Nya shouted, running beside him. Kai was right behind her, pulling off Lloyd's gag. "Lloyd, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lloyd replied, although he still sounded dazed. "Uncle Wu? What's going on?"

I realized I was still on top of him, and I quickly scrambled off. _I just tackled a Spinjitzu Master. What was I thinking?_

"S-sorry," I apologized, as Wu got up and brushed the dust off his coat.

_Wait._

"Don't apologize!" Kai snapped at me. "He attacked all of us and was going to do who knows what to Lloyd!"

Lloyd glanced between all of us, and then up to the old man. "Uncle?"

Wu just smiled. "It was a test. Not just anyone can join the Secret Ninja Force, you know."

"That was our test?" Kai yelled.

"That seems needlessly dangerous," Zane commented.

"How could you use your nephew like that?" Nya demanded.

Cole folded his arms, and I tried to put on my best glare. _If Wu got angry though…_

"I needed to be sure Lloyd's friends were worthy," he explained patiently. "And you all have passed with flying colors."

"Really?" I asked, a little flicker of pride warming my chest.

The old master smiled. "Really."

Nya and Kai didn't look convinced though.

"You all have shown the kind of bravery and compassion necessary to become defenders of Ninjago, as well as the potential to become ninja. If you are willing, you may join the Secret Ninja Force," Wu continued, looking us all in the eyes.

I swallowed, and the rest of us formed a small huddle.

"I don't trust him," Kai said immediately.

"Me neither," Nya agreed.

"Wu isn't a bad person," Lloyd said. "He's a little cryptic sometimes, sure, and takes a weird roundabout way to teach his lessons, but he means well. I think he just wanted to make sure you all could be good ninja."

Nya and Kai glanced at each other. "If you say so," Nya relented.

"So, are we joining him or not?" I asked.

"You don't have to," Lloyd said quickly. "But—" he hesitated. "It'd be nice to have friends to train with," he admitted.

We all shared a look, and we all nodded in agreement. "Of course, we'll join you, Lloyd," Nya said.

"We promised we'd stick with you, remember?" Kai said.

"Even if it's dangerous," I added.

"Especially because it's dangerous," Nya corrected.

"We are your friends, Lloyd," Zane agreed.

Cole smiled, and that said more than his words ever could.

Lloyd looked so relieved and overjoyed that it makes me glad I agreed and ashamed I'd ever considered staying behind.

"Thanks, you guys. Thank you so much." Lloyd whispered.

"You're welcome," Nya said with a grin.

We straightened up and turned to face Wu. Who I guess is Master Wu now. He raised an eyebrow at us.

Nya stepped forward and spoke for all of us. "We're in."

* * *

**AN: So, this is probably going to be it. I'm not going to mark it as complete, because I do have a few more ideas for chapters, I just don't have the time or motivation to write them right now. And for those of you who follow my wizard series... I probably won't be able to finish that one either. Funny story, I had a plan for the climax of the sixth book, and talked it over with my sister, but when I looked back at that manuscript for it I completely forgot what it was. I might pick up the threads for it later if you guys want, but for now, I think I'm going to focus on getting ready for college.**

**Thank you all again. You all have been a great a support and I love seeing all your reviews. Hope you enjoyed this chapter during this time, and have a great summer everyone!**


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